Trey H. Little

Sermon Text:  Luke 5: 1-11

February 6, 2011

Albany, Texas

“Should Have Been Here Yesterday”

I love “fishin’ stories” how about you?  Turn with me to Luke 5: 1-11 for today’s sermon text.

“Should have been here yesterday!”  I can’t tell you the number of times I have heard that statement.  More often than not it comes after a slow fishing day—not what you want to hear. One such instance occurred just a few weeks ago when I was on a fishing excursion in Cozumel.  It was me and Luke, my brother-in-law Mike and nephew Mason.  The four of us set out on, what we thought—on what we had been told—would be a fish “catching” excursion.

            However, one hour into the trip we had yet to hook a fish.  Two hours into the trip we were much further out from shore than we had anticipated venturing—the seas were extremely rough—some of us were getting sick over the side of the boat—all of us felt like we should be—and none of us were having fun—oh, and by the way, still no fish.  Finally, we made it back to dry land—all of us feeling the effects of a half day on the rough seas.  The beach chairs were in sight so we gathered ourselves—stepped off the boat—said our “thank you” and “good bye”—only to hear the Captain say, “You should have been here yesterday!”  Well, he didn’t really say that, but WE were thinking it! 

The trip had been drawn up so beautifully.  The night before Captain Loui had shown us the pictures of his nice boat; he had dangled the bait right before our very eyes—he had told us of the fish they had caught earlier in the day and how we would do the same under his leadership.  It sounded so perfect—surely tomorrow would be a day to remember—father/son fishing day—countless stories to tell of our “big catch.”  Trust me, we had stories to tell—unfortunately, none of them involved fish!

What I wouldn’t have given to have Jesus as our fishing guide that beautiful January morning.  We could have joined Him and Simon in Simon’s boat—we could have listened to Jesus preach and then we could have gone out a little further from shore—“into deep water” and “let down the nets for a catch.”

Of course, after our experience in Cozumel, we may have had a similar response to Simon’s.  Simon said, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything.”  Upon which my brother-in-law Mike chimes in to say, “Tell me about it!”  But then, being the preacher I am, I would say—in my best preacher tone—“But because you say so, we will let down the nets.”  I can just hear Luke and Mason saying, “Oh come on—can’t we just go in?  We have tried this already—let’s go get some chicken quesadillas and call it a day.”

But then it happens.  The boat starts to lean over to one side—so much so we have to grab a hold of the side just so we don’t fall in.  There are so many fish in the nets that they begin to break.  Luke and Mason begin to take credit for the “big catch!”  Thankfully, Simon’s friends, James and John, were near by and they came to Simon’s excited yet fearful call for help.  Amazingly enough—we had enough fish to fill both boats—so much so we were on the brink of finding out just how “deep” the waters were because we were SINKING due to the enormity of the fish.  Wow—what a story—memories for a lifetime.  A story we could tell our grandkids—the story of the day Jesus was our Guide and completely changed everything—the day that we fell at Jesus’ knees in astonishment and perhaps even a sense of fearful unworthiness at the “catch of fish” we had taken.

But then, with the shore in sight we went ahead and said our “thank you” and “good bye” only to hear Jesus say, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men.” So we pulled our boats up on the shore—waived to our families, left everything—including the fish we just caught—and followed him!

Well, of course, that didn’t really happen to us—but I’ve been thinking about it!  And I want us to consider three things from this “fishin’ story”—three things that have application to our lives today.

First, we have to trust our Guide.  Simon said, “But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”  Simon had to trust Jesus—even though Simon was a fisherman and Jesus was a carpenter—Simon recognized that Jesus was the Guide on this fishing trip.  Simon submitted to the authority of Jesus.  Simon trusted Jesus.

Proverbs 3: 5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”

Friends, Jesus is interested in not only saving us but also in helping us in our daily activities.  But in order for that to happen we must relinquish control of our boat and our nets and let Him take command.

I am reminded of the story of Harry—Harry was a TV repairman who was called to fix a television set that had neither sound nor picture.  Left alone in the room, Harry spotted the cause immediately:  the set was unplugged.  Harry faced a dilemma:  one part of him said he shouldn’t charge the homeowner.  The other insisted he be paid for his time.  Finally, he presented the owner with a minimum-charge service bill, which read:  “Restored isolated connecting cable to primary power source.  $25” (Leonard Sweet).

You and I—on our own—are “isolated connecting cables that need a power source.”  When we trust Jesus to be our Guide—we get plugged in to the source that is powerful enough to give us the words and vision to become “fishers of men.”

But here is the reality—and the second thing I want us to remember—we will have to launch into the deep.  God has called us to be “fishers of men;” to do so we must be all in.  We must launch out into the deep waters of discipleship.  And sometimes, the deep waters can get a little rough.  Some times being committed to and unashamed of the Gospel can make waves. There will be people who won’t understand why we can be so in love with Jesus.  There will be people who won’t be able to comprehend why we have such passion and compassion.  There will be people who will try and convince us that it is much safer—and less work—if we stay in the shallow waters of “part-time” discipleship.  They will say, “Let someone else go out there.”

But Jesus says, “Put out into deep water and let down the nets for a catch.”  And so we do so—with this promise:  “I can do everything through him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13).

Finally, we must leave everything behind and give God our future.  Over and over again we, as disciples of Jesus Christ, try and convince ourselves that we can be faithful followers if we just leave a few things behind.  We think that if we just “do our best” that will be enough—I mean, Jesus didn’t really mean for us to “leave everything.”  Yes He did!  Simon, James and John “left everything.”  They left behind the biggest catch they had ever seen—a catch that surely would have produced for them the biggest profit their fishing business would have ever taken—and yet they left it and the business and everything else—and followed Jesus.

Do you see the point?  Jesus had not come along with them to give them a good catch and a good day’s wage; Jesus had come to change their profession and priorities forever.  Jesus had come to give them a future they had never dreamed of.  For some, the call to follow Jesus may mean leaving a profession behind—it did for me.  For others it may mean you stay right where you are and “fish for men” there.  However, for all of us, the call to follow Jesus means making Him the center of our lives.  Following Jesus—becoming “fishers of men”—is more than just acknowledging Jesus as Savior—it is leaving the past behind and giving Him our future.  Are you willing to do that?

I want to close with a story about a friend of mine.  He had been seriously addicted to alcohol for 31 years.  His addiction cost him relationships, a prosperous career, and landed him in prison for three years.  He used to say of his battle for sobriety, “I will do my best.”  He said that was such a weak statement—it was like an escape clause—because if he went into the bar for another drink he could just say, “Oh well, I did my best.”  It wasn’t until He began to say, “Whatever it takes” that his life really began to change and he began to tackle his addiction.  He said he realized Jesus had “whatever it took” to heal him.  He realized Jesus did “whatever it took” to free him from his addiction and from the pain and guilt he had been harboring for so long.  And he realized that doing whatever it took was the least he could do—and leaving everything behind my friend is now “fishing for men!”  Praise the Lord!  What will be your “fishin’ story? “Whatever it takes”—not—“should have been here yesterday!” AMEN.