Message by Pastor John Culp : June 8, 2008
“Rocky – Part 2”
Text – Luke 5:1-11
According to many studies, when you ask people to name their biggest fear, they will tell you that it’s public speaking. No. 2 on the list is frequently death.
Commenting on that fact, comic Jerry Seinfeld says, “So to the average person, if you have to go to a funeral, you’re better off in the casket than doing the eulogy.” (“Laughter, the Best Medicine”® Reader’s Digest, September 1998, p.110.)
We who follow in the footsteps of one whom God inspired to write, “For me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21 NKJV), recognize that Mr. Seinfeld speaks far more truth there than he may know!
But I want to talk some today about fear. What are you afraid of? Tell me that you’re not afraid of anything, and I will respectfully suggest that on some level you’re fooling yourself. Our fears, in fact, are a deeply personal matter. Some may be relatively easy for us to discuss with people. Others are in the same league with such matters as personal finances and our sex lives when it comes to the level of secrecy we may attach to them.
Now let me be quick to assure you that I have no plans to venture into such touchy topics! But we do need to deal today with some fears most of us have in areas that have a great deal to do with our faith in Christ.
All of this comes in the context of our look at the life of one of our Lord’s greatest followers: the Apostle Peter. We plan to consider throughout the summer what God would teach us through the example of Peter’s faith in Christ. We looked last week at the story of Jesus’ call to Peter as the Gospel of John reports it. It’s not entirely clear how the story we just read from Luke relates to John’s account: which came first in the relationship between the disciple and his Master. John told us (1:35-42) that as part of His call to Simon son of John, Jesus gave this man who would become one of His closest friends a new name: Cephas (in Aramaic) or Petrus/Peter (in Greek). The names in both languages mean ‘stone.’ So Jesus, in effect, gives Simon the nickname ‘Rocky.’
But whenever the story we just read came in ‘Rocky’s’ life, it’s quite clear that some crucial things happened in this relatively brief episode. Peter’s very real fears played a huge part in the whole story. Like so many other aspects of the life of the great apostle, that’s something to which we can all relate quite well indeed! Because of the present reality of fear in our lives, God wants to teach us a very valuable lesson from Rocky’s story:
As He did with Peter,
Jesus bids us rise above whatever fears we may have,
and leave everything to follow Him.
That’s true with regard to all that it means to follow Jesus. But this story of the simple fisherman teaches us that it has special bearing on the critical task to which Jesus calls us all as His followers: the work of sharing our faith with others.
So let’s go fishing!
Like all the stories in the Gospels, we can understand this one on a simple enough level. But also like the others, scratch beneath the surface of this one, and you discover some profound truths.
The fishing context of the story in itself gives us some important clues to understand-ing – and applying – the story to our own lives.
Peter, Andrew, James and John were veteran fishermen. Their experience confirmed the supernatural reality of what Jesus did that morning. If I had been there, I might well have concluded that Jesus had merely been ‘lucky.’ They knew better! They had been fishing all night. They knew from experience that if they were to take His advice, and cast the net once more, just as had happened all night long, they would surely catch no fish!
So when they saw what happened, they knew at the least that there was something very special about this Jesus.
But perhaps even more significant than all that is the context in which Jesus calls Peter and his colleagues. We might have expected that Jesus would call to such eternally significant work men who had devoted their lives to studying the Law of God, the Torah. Or we might expect that such a deeply spiritual moment would happen in the context of a spiritual retreat center – or at least in ‘church,’ in the synagogue, for them.
But no! Jesus calls very ordinary men, fishermen, and right in the midst of the ordinary business of life!
What do you suppose are the implications of that for most of us, we who do not work fulltime in the church? What do you think are the implications for all of us in the ordinary business of life: as we go to work; in recreation or retirement; at Wal-Mart® or County Market™; as we drive down Interstate-79?
Let’s look specifically at Peter’s fear. Luke doesn’t tell us directly that in fact Peter is afraid. But when he sees what’s happened, he falls to his knees before Jesus, saying (in more traditional language than that of the New Living Translation we read), “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” (5:8 NKJV). In any case, it’s quite clear that fear was a large part of what he felt. We know that because Jesus’ first words in response were, “Do not be afraid” (5:10).
So what’s Peter afraid of? We might well presume that a Galileean fisherman in the first century would have been a pretty tough guy – no mamby-pamby mama’s boy! He knew what it was to face economic hardship, to live life under a conquering Roman oppressor who didn’t hesitate to nail troublemakers to crosses along the public highways. He was no doubt a survivor of numerous life-threatening storms there on the Sea of Galilee.
We certainly can’t say for sure exactly how much Peter understood from this encounter about the real nature of Jesus. But when he came face to face with the simple Rabbi from Nazareth, he clearly sensed something of the divine in Him. And as always happens, when people have a close encounter with God, they experience a holy terror.
In Peter’s case, that fear specifically took the form of an awareness of his own sin, when he found himself placed there alongside the consuming holiness of the sinless Son of God.
Now fear can be a very bad thing when it paralyzes us, when it prevents us from living life to the fullest. Peter’s fear, on the other hand – at least in its origins – was perfectly appropriate!
But what is Jesus’ response to His friend’s fear? First, He gives a word of reassurance. But then He meets Peter right where he is: in the midst of his fear, in his element – fishing – and gives him kingdom work to do.
Look how amazing this scene is. Peter is absolutely right: he is a sinner, as he kneels, trembling, before the incarnate Son of God. But instead of responding as Peter had asked, as he no doubt expected, Jesus entrusts to Peter the most important work in all the world: sharing the Good News of the Kingdom of God – fishing for people.
Peter asked Jesus to go away. But much later in story, after His crucifixion, as He reminded Peter and the other disciples of the vital work He had given them to do, the risen Christ proclaims just the opposite: “…Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20 ESV).
Jesus told Peter – He tells us – not to fear. And He gives us the best reason imaginable for life-changing courage.
What about us and our fears regarding sharing our faith?
An avid golfer was out playing with his best friend one day when he sliced a drive onto an adjacent pasture. When he finally got to where his ball had ended up, he saw a big old barn right between the ball and the green. He suggested to his friend that if they opened both doors, he could hit the ball right through the barn onto the green.
His buddy thought that was a ridiculous suggestion, and poked some fun at his friend. This irritated the golfer, so he stomped over to the barn, yanked both doors open, strode right back to the ball and hit it with all his might.
But unfortunately he missed the open door by a couple of feet. The ball ricocheted off the barn wall, hit his friend and killed him instantly.
Wouldn’t you know that a few weeks later, the fellow was out playing with another friend, and found himself with exactly the same lie on the same hole. His friend suggested that if they opened both doors of the barn, he might be able to hit the ball right on through and onto the green.
“No way,” the golfer replied somberly. “I tried that just a few weeks ago and it ended in a horrible tragedy.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” his friend answered. “What happened?”
“Well,” the golfer replied, his eyes misting over, “I got a double bogey.”
(“Laughter, the Best Medicine”® Reader’s Digest, September 1997, page 79.)
What are you afraid of? I’d like to look quickly at three fears Christians frequently feel when they think of the prospect of sharing their faith with others.
First there is the fear that we don’t know enough or aren’t ‘good’ enough to share our faith. Now I will tell you that that might be a legitimate concern – if you are actively engaged in praying and studying God’s word in Scripture, with an eye to truly growing closer to Christ. If that’s not true in your life, I’m inclined to see the ‘fear’ that you’re not good enough or don’t know your Bible well enough to be more of an excuse.
We all need to realize the crucial responsibility that every believer has to bear witness to our Savior. Not too many years ago, the Institute for American Church Growth asked 10,000 people about their pilgrimage of faith. What was it, the survey asked, that led them to become members of a particular church? You might guess that they came back with a wide variety of answers: 2% said that they’d had some special need. 6% identified the pastor as the prime reason. 5% mentioned the church’s Sunday School, and the same number (5%) spoke of an evangelistic crusade. 3% cited the specific programs of the church. Would you care to guess how many folks said that some direct contact with or invitation from a friend or relative was the main cause? It was a whopping 79%!
(Wayne Zunkel, Leadership, Vol. 5, no. 3.)
But beyond the responsibility we all have as believers to fish for people; beyond our need to live lives that are a good witness, and to be growing in our faith, is a far more important reason not to allow this fear to paralyze our outreach. In doing the crucial work of evangelism, our task is not to impress people with an exemplary life or to dazzle them with our knowledge of Bible trivia. Our job is really much more basic – and much more effective – than that! We are simply to point them to Jesus!
We can trust the One who said, “When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself” (John 12:32 NLT).
Dwight Moody, the great American evangelist of the 19th century, said, “If this world is going to be reached, I am convinced that it must be done by men and women of average talent. After all, there are comparatively few people in the world who have great talents.”
(quoted in Christian History, no. 25.)
We can all take comfort in those wise words – and even more comfort in the greatness of the One to whom we bear witness. Fear not!
Then second, there is the fear that it is hopelessly arrogant to assume Jesus is the only way to God. Certainly the world shouts that objection at us! And let’s be honest: it probably rings true for many of us. I’ve known a number of people in the church over the years who have believed that all religions are equally valid paths to truth, to God.
What about that? Should we fear to proclaim Jesus as the only way?
The best answer I can give to that fear is the clear, consistent proclamation of the word of God, in the Old Testament as well as the New.
Here is God speaking through Isaiah: “Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel, and His Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: ‘I am the First and I am the Last; besides Me there is no God...Do not fear, nor be afraid; have I not told you from that time, and declared it? You are My witnesses. Is there a God besides Me? Indeed there is no other Rock; I know not one.” (44:6, 8 NKJV).
Our own ‘Rocky,’ the same Peter we’re studying, would later say this about his Jesus: “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
And Jesus said this of Himself: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6 ESV).
The exclusive claims of the Bible for Jesus are of course never a license for us to be pushy or arrogant or obnoxious. But they are always abundant reason for us to boldly bear witness to Him before the world. Fear not!
Then third, there is the fear that we will offend someone by sharing our faith. Again, this can be a legitimate concern. We certainly never want to turn someone off by a fumbled witness to Christ!
Just a few weeks ago I spoke with a man who grew up in another country. He told me how surprised he had been – in a bad way – when he first arrived in the United States to live, to have people invite him to church. That bothered him, he said, because in his country, one’s religion is strictly a personal matter. So I made a mental note of that perspective. But I hope (and expect) to see him again. I’m hoping and praying for the grace to bear witness to him in some winsome way.
In this context, we do well to remember God’s call to the prophet Ezekiel (today’s Old Testament lesson): “Ezekiel, I am sending you to the people of Israel. They are just like their ancestors who rebelled against Me and refused to stop. They are stubborn and hardheaded. But I, the Lord GOD, have chosen you to tell them what I say. Those rebels may not even listen, but at least they will know that a prophet has come to them. Don’t be afraid of them or of anything they say...Be brave and preach My message to them, whether they choose to listen or not” (2:3-7 CEV).
I quoted D.L. Moody to you earlier. Moody himself made a covenant with God that he would witness for Christ to at least one person each day. One night, about ten o- clock, he realized that he had not yet shared his faith with anyone that day. So he went out into the street and spoke to a man standing by a lamppost, asking him, “Are you a Christian?”
The man flew into a violent rage and threatened to knock Moody into the gutter. Later, that same man went to an elder in the church and complained that Moody was “doing more harm in Chicago than ten men were doing good.” The elder begged Moody to temper his zeal with knowledge.
Three months later, Moody was awakened at the YMCA by a man knocking at the door. It was the man he had witnessed to. “I want to talk to you about my soul,” he said to Moody. He apologized for the way he had treated Moody and said that he had had no peace ever since that night on Lake Street when Moody witnessed to him. Moody led the man to Christ and he became a zealous worker in the Sunday school.
(W. Wiersbe, The Wycliffe Handbook of Preaching & Preachers, p. 205.)
Fear of offending someone by a fumbled witness to Christ is understandable. But it is never a valid excuse to be silent! Fear not!!
There is a legend that recounts the return of Jesus to glory after His time on earth. Even in heaven He bore the marks of His earthly pilgrimage with its cruel cross and shameful death. The angel Gabriel approached Him and said, “Master, You must have suffered terribly for men down there.”
He replied that He had. Gabriel continued: “And do they know and appreciate how much You loved them and what You did for them?”
Jesus replied, “Oh, no! Not yet. Right now only a handful of people in Palestine know.”
But Gabriel was perplexed. He asked, “Then what have You done to let everyone know about Your love for them?”
Jesus said, “I’ve asked Peter, James, John and a few more friends to tell others about Me. Those who are told will tell others, in turn, about Me. And My story will be spread to the farthest reaches of the globe. Ultimately, all of mankind will have heard about My life and what I have done.”
Gabriel frowned and looked rather skeptical. He well knew what poor stuff men were made of. He said, “Yes, but what if Peter and James and John grow weary? What if the people who come after them forget? What if way down in the twentieth-first century people just don’t tell others about You? Haven’t You made any other plans?”
And Jesus answered, “I have no other plans. I’m counting on them.” More than twenty centuries later, He still has no other plan. He’s counting on you and me. High on God’s “To Do” list is the evangelization of the world. His early disciples took His priorities as their own and devoted themselves to reaching the world. Christ counted on them, and they delivered. Have we done as well?
(James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited [Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988] pp. 70-71.)
Martha Hickman tells the story of an anxious time in her life. She had just undergone some medical tests and was fearfully awaiting the results. So she decided to go over to the local YMCA pool to pass some time.
While she was there, she noticed a father carrying his young son over to the deep end. Still holding his child tightly, he plunged into the deep water. A few seconds later they surfaced – the son laughing gleefully and brushing water from his eyes, the father guiding him safely to the pool’s edge.
This picture of a father and child spoke powerfully to Martha. She was reminded that just like that boy, we are protected by our heavenly Father – and we can be confident always, knowing that we rest in His unfailing arms.
(Martha Whitmore Hickman, “Heart to Heart,” Today’s Christian Woman.)
Jesus sends you and me out – just as He once sent Peter – to fish for people, to tell all the world. And He has promised to be with us always. Fear not! Let’s go fishing…
Let us pray. Thank You, heavenly Father, for the inspiring example of Peter, who obeyed his Lord even through the midst of his very real fears. Please help us to do the same, empowered by the Spirit, guided by the light of our Lord Jesus, until all the world shall know. We pray in His matchless name. Amen.