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SERMON DATE AND TITLE: 2090324 CATCHING MEN ALIVEThis page streams the audio-only sermon, when available, in downloadable SWF flash format. It begins playing shortly after opening this page
Senior Pastor Phil Roland Pastor Ray Scott
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CATCHING MEN ALIVE SERMON STARTER
The story begins on a spring morning 28 AD near Capernaum on the Sea of Galilee. The Lake was as smooth as glass. The water mirrored the twinkling starlight, and the blazing torches on the bow and stern of each wooden fishing boat. Simon heard the ageless cry of fellow fishermen, James and his brother John, who were fishing nearby. "Any luck?" "Nothing, James. What about you?" "The same ... nothing. Let's work our way toward the harbor. It will be dawn soon, anyway. The fishing there can't be any worse there than here in the deeper waters!" Both boats began to move laboriously toward the harbor and shore. Their wooden oars creaked in their oarlocks as they leaned into the oars and pulled with all their strength. Later, at their mooring point as they washed, mended and dried their nets, they were approached by Jesus of Nazareth. As usual, there were people following alongside him as he walked, hanging on His every word. The atmosphere was electric. It was that way ever since Jesus had come to town. Each day hundreds of people left their tasks to listen to his teaching. It was no wonder! They had never heard anyone teach like Him! His words stirred their hearts. Jesus approached Simon, James and John at their nets. "Would you put out a little from shore?" he asked. Simon was sarcastic, "I might as well do as you asked, at least this boat will be good for SOMETHING today. After all, through no fault of ours, IT IS empty!" He sat in the boat alongside Jesus as he taught. When Jesus finished teaching, he asked Simon to do something that almost made him laugh. "Put down into the deep water and let down your nets for a Simon answered him, "Master, we have labored all night, and haven't caught anything. And, besides, no one catches fish when the sun is on the water! Simon hesitated seeing the look on Jesus' face, "But, if you insist we will let down the nets!" You know the rest of the story ...
Sheepfold Ministries / March 24, 2019 pastor Phil Roland
CATCHING MEN ALIVE Luke 5:1-11 “Catching men alive (for life) means that Jesus commissions those who follow Him to catch men for a life-long commitment to Himself and His Kingdom. Pastor Phil <><<
GREEK - zwgrwn - ZO-GRON - “To catch alive, not to kill”
10 and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men." GREEK = euangelion = EUAN-GEL-LION Good News, Shouter of Good News / Announcer of Good Tidings
PETER, JAMES AND JOHN LEARNED FROM JESUS: I. CATCHING MEN ALIVE IS A NEW AGENDA - “From now on. . .” 10 and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men."
“From now on the Son of man will be seated at the right hand of the Throne of God.” 1. Almost blasphemous is declare His Equality with God Ps. 82:6 6 I said, "You are gods, And all of you are children of the Most High. 2. Hebrew - El-o-heem - אֱלֹהִים - Great Ones 3. Apostle Paul extols us to be like Jesus - Philippians 2:5-6
“From now on you (Peter) will catch men.” 1. Living from Fishing was a chancy, arduous vocation 2. Weather, Wind, Currents, Boats, nets were in control 3. Terrible hours, continuous night shift, day after day D. Where was your Turning Point? 1. When and where did you invite Jesus into your life? 2. Was it a time of great hardship. . .extremity. . .? CATCHING MEN ALIVE, cont. p.2
II. CATCHING MEN ALIVE INSTEAD OF FISH - v. 10b
1. Average depth is 140 feet - Lake Erie is 60 to 80 feet 2. Shallow lakes create terrible waves in windstorms D. Catching Men instead of Fish, the conditions must be perfect 1. Calm night, good Light, mended nets, Attracted fish 2. The light attracts small baitfish, that brings in Fish 3. To catch men we need Sensitivity and the right Opportunity 4. The Holy Spirit will show you when to catch fish 5. Note that on the lake is was an Outrageous Opportunity 6. NO ONE caught fish in broad daylight. . .Impossible 7. Catching Men Alive can be like that 8. Or, it can be a subtle time to share your faith
III. CATCHING MEN ALIVE IS AN ENTERPRISE OF PARTNERS
1. Hard Labor, Releasing Nets, Hauling Them Back 2. Done at Night By Torchlight 3. Fish are attracted to the light and cannot see the nets
1. Sure, we can all reach out to the lost 2. Few, about 10% are Evangelists, but ALL can be Witnesses 8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." Acts 1:8 a. We are witnesses thru Jesus' High Priestly Prayer - Jn. 17:20 20 "I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; b. We are witnesses through Personal Suffering - 2 Tim. 2:12 12 If we endure, We shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us. c. We are witnesses of the Life of Jesus in Us - Luke 24:46 46 Then He said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, d. All I know is that once I was blind but now I see - John 9:25
IV. CATCHING MEN ALIVE IS A NATURAL WAY OFCATCHING FISH
1. I must trick the fish into believing my offering is genuine food 2. Natural Bait, Flies, jigs, lures, spinners can easily fool fish 3. My goal is to HOOK them and make them table-fare
1. We need the Holy Spirit's Green Light for God's Timing CATCHING MEN ALIVE, cont. p.3
2. With God's Timing we avoid the Sweaty Palms and Dry Mouth3. Allowing yourself to be led by the Holy Spirit avoids Anxiety 4. Catching men alive is a no sweat proposition
V. CATCHING MEN ALIVE IS A VOCATION, NOT A HOBBYA. God calls us all to be His Witnesses to a Lost and Dying World 1. You can be the difference between Life and Death 2. Light and Life are in your Words to those who walk in darkness B. His Light in us Attracts Sinners 1. Our net is the incredible Gospel of Jesus 2. The Gospel both draws them into Jesus' net 3. After Catching Men Alive real Discipleship begins 4. Developing into believers the character and nature of Jesus VI. ANGLERS CATCH FISH, CATCHING MEN ALIVE KEEPS THEMAnglers catch and Use Fish For Recreation
PEOPLE NEED THE LORD https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uZcGaixMhg
CATCHING MEN ALIVE, TEXTS: Luke 5:1-11 1One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God, 2he saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. 3He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat. 4When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” 5Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” 6When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. 7So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. 8When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” 9For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, 10and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men.” 11So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.
THE CONVERSION OF C. H. SPURGEON I was years and years upon the brink of hell—I mean in my own feeling. I was unhappy, I was desponding, I was despairing. I dreamed of hell. My life was full of sorrow and wretchedness, believing that I was lost.” Charles Spurgeon used these strong words to describe his adolescent years. Despite his Christian upbringing (he was christened as an infant, and raised in the Congregational church), and his own efforts (he read the Bible and prayed daily), Spurgeon woke one January Sunday in 1850 with a deep sense of his need for deliverance. Because of a snowstorm, the 15-year-old’s path to church was diverted down a side street. For shelter, he ducked into the Primitive Methodist Chapel on Artillery Street. An unknown substitute lay preacher stepped into the pulpit and read his text—Isaiah 45:22—“Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else.” Spurgeon’s Autobiography records his reaction: “He had not much to say, thank God, for that compelled him to keep on repeating his text, and there was nothing needed—by me, at any rate except his text. Then, stopping, he pointed to where I was sitting under the gallery, and he said, ‘That young man there looks very miserable’ … and he shouted, as I think only a Primitive Methodist can, ‘Look! Look, young man! Look now!’ … Then I had this vision—not a vision to my eyes, but to my heart. I saw what a Savior Christ was.… Now I can never tell you how it was, but I no sooner saw whom I was to believe than I also understood what it was to believe, and I did believe in one moment. “And as the snow fell on my road home from the little house of prayer I thought every snowflake talked with me and told of the pardon I had found, for I was white as the driven snow. . . C. H. Spurgeon conversion https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/issues/issue-29/spurgeons-conversion.html http://www.middletownbiblechurch.org/helpseek/spurgeon.htm
THE CONVERSION OF D. L. MOODY D. L. Moody, the famous Evangelist, when eighteen years of age, was a boot salesman in his uncle's store in Boston. His Sunday School teacher was a Mr. Kimball, and he had set his heart on winning the young man for Christ. After praying about the matter, he arranged to visit him at the boot store. "I was determined," to use his own words, "to speak to him about Christ and about his soul, and started down to Holton's boot store. When I was nearly there I began to wonder whether I ought to go in just then during business hours. I thought my call might embarrass the boy, and that when I went away the other clerks would ask who I was, and taunt him with my efforts in trying to make him a good boy. In the meantime I had passed the store, and, discovering this, I determined to make a dash for it, and have it over at once. I found him in the back part of the building wrapping up shoes. I went up to him at once, and putting my hand on his shoulder, I made what I felt afterwards was a very weak plea for Christ. I don't know just what words I used, nor could Mr. Moody tell. I simply told him of Christ's love for him, and the love Christ wanted in return. That was all there was. It seemed the young man was just ready for the light that then broke upon him, and there in the back of that store in Boston, D. L. Moody gave himself and his life to Christ." Conversion of D. L. Moody: The Prince of Evangelists compiled by Hy. Pickering https://www.wholesomewords.org/biography/biomoody5.html Truth and TearsIn one of his books, Ray Stedman tells the story of a man who said to his friend, “I hear you dismissed your pastor. Why?” “Because he told us we were going to hell.” “What does your new pastor say?” “He says we’re going to hell, too.” “So, what’s the difference?” “When the first pastor said it, he sounded like he was glad about it. When the new man says it, it sounds like it’s breaking his heart.” It’s never easy for any of us to receive a hard truth, no matter how necessary it may be to hear it. But there is a much better chance of hearing it if it is told in love. Something like that was said about D.L. Moody. It was said of him that he could never speak about hell without weeping. How different from some preachers who seem to delight in announcing the damnation of all unbelievers. One man told people they were going to hell … and seemed glad about it. The other man said the same thing … and it broke his heart. Which man had the heart of Jesus? Only the latter. The first knew the words, the second had the heart. And it’s the heart that makes all the difference "God looks on the heart. . ." 1 Samuel 16:7 "But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."
in evangelism. You can mouth all the right words, say all the right Scriptures, make all the right arguments, and never see anyone come to Christ. No one cares how much you know till they know how much you care.
As Harry Truman reminded us, if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.
SEE: File – GOSPEL Message
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