Summer Retreat ‘08
Sermon #1: “Leaving the Shallow: taught or caught”
Luke 5:1-11
19 Saturday 2008
INTRODUCTION
A. LOVIN’ THE WEEKEND!
IT’S AWESOME TO BE HERE WITH YOU GUYS TONIGHT! I KNOW EVERYONE IS LOOKING FORWARD to this ENTIRE weekend…MY WIFE IS HERE! I’M PUMPED BEYOND BELIEF! We’ve got 2 SESSIONS of White Water Rafting tomorrow, Optional Activities the next day; capture the flag football, 6 Flags; but I’ve got to tell you…for me, the MOST EXCITING PART of the weekend is RIGHT NOW! This is the part where I FEEL MOST ALIVE…PREACHING the WORD of GOD! Let me say this about that: when I preach the Word of God to YOU, God first preaches to ME…I NEED JESUS CHRIST…I NEED the WORD of GOD…I NEED the BREATH of the HOLY SPIRIT just as much as YOU GUYS do…so I don’t stand up here as one who knows it all…I stand up here SHARING the INCREDIBLE LOVE of GOD the FATHER WITH YOU THROUGH THE PREACHED WORD of JESUS…CAN I GET AN “AMEN”!
B. LOVIN’ JESUS CHRIST!
I LOVE JESUS CHRIST. I LOVE HIM! There are so many things to LOVE about CHRIST. One of the things I love about Him MOST is this: He “LOVED” to PREACH the WORD of GOD. In fact, in Luke 4:43, He said “I MUST PREACH”…He goes on to say that PREACHING was “WHY” He was SENT to earth! I pray that some of you WILL be CALLED by GOD to PREACH!
C. LOVIN’ THE PREACHED WORD!
That’s where we FIND JESUS in our SCRIPTURE for tonight…PREACHING the WORD of GOD. And listen, He was TURNING it on…the MAN was “ON FIRE” with the HOLY GHOST! You would have thought it was a HANNA MONTANA CONCERT! HM FANS?? People were CROWDING all around HIM to hear the LIFE GIVING words coming out of His mouth! That’s what I HOPE and PRAY will happen at THIS TIME each NIGHT this WEEKEND! I pray we will CROWD around JESUS to hear His Word! Let me tell you a little about each NIGHT…
I am going to TALK tonight. (Generally)
SALLIE is going to talk tomorrow night. (Specifically)
STEVE will talk Monday night. (Specifically)
THEME & SCRIPTURE INTRODUCTION
Our THEME for this WEEKEND is “DEEPER”. JESUS calls us to go “DEEPER” with Him. He called SIMON to go “DEEPER” with Him in the PASSAGE we will look at. It’s the PASSAGE that our theme is BASED ON! I am going to read LUKE 5:1-11 right now (v4 “key” verse). As I do, I would like to have 15 VOLUNTEERS. I want YOU 15 to ACT out the SCRIPTURE as I read…you don’t have to do anything extravagant…it does not have to be funny, although it can be…it does not have to be perfect…I NEED someone to be (1) JESUS; (2) 5 of ya’ll to be the CROWD; (3) 2 of ya’ll to be the BOATS; (4) 1 person to be SIMON; (5) 1 person to be John; (6) 1 person to be James; (7) 5 of ya’ll to be FISH!---as I read, listen for your PART and SIMPLY ACT IT OUT… --(READ LUKE 5:1-11)—
I. “LEAVING THE SHALLOW”
A. TWO TYPES
TOPIC TONIGHT IS THIS: “LEAVING THE SHALLOW” I WANT to talk about 2 TYPES of CHRISTIANS: (1) “SHALLOW” CHRISTIANS and (2) “DEEP” CHRISTIANS. If you are here tonight and you are NOT a CHRISTIAN…meaning, you have NOT received JESUS CHRIST as your Lord and Savior, this message is for you too…Christ is CALLING YOU TONIGHT/WEEKEND into a RELATIONSHIP with Him You may “START” in the “SHALLOW” but the GOAL is to end up in the “DEEP”! So, “SHALLOW” CHRISTIANS and “DEEP” CHRISTIANS….
ILLUSTRATION #1- learning to swim
HOW MANY of you grew up learning to SWIM in the “SHALLOW”??? YEA! The “SHALLOW” is where we would wear those FLOATIES…it made us look like we had HUGE BICEPS at 3 years old!!! The “SHALLOW” is where we were “TAUGHT” to SWIM. (EVERYONE say the word “TAUGHT”…turn to YOUR NEIGHBOR and say “TAUGHT)”. WE’RE gonna have FUN tonight! (That is a “KEY” word for us TONIGHT) We were “TAUGHT” how to KICK and PADDLE and HOLD our BREATH under water! JUST RECENTLY, my TWIN BROTHER, BRAD, and I “TAUGHT” our 5 YEAR OLD NEPHEW to TAKE off his FLOATIES and swim in the “SHALLOW”! He loved it! He was GRABBING the NOODLES and HITTING everyone OVER the HEAD with them! NOW, If you REMEMBER, the “SHALLOW” is where JESUS “TAUGHT” the CROWD—(READ 5:3)-
B. “TAUGHT” N’ DA’ SHALLOW… “CAUGHT”?
The “SHALLOW” was a GOOD PLACE for the crowd to be “TAUGHT”…it was SAFE…it was SECURE. We are “TAUGHT” in “safe” places. The CHURCH is a “SAFE” place… …maybe at FUSION, or POWER SURGE, or the SUMMIT…in “BIG CHURCH” on Sunday mornings…EVEN A PLACE LIKE THIS…maybe we are “TAUGHT” by our FAMILIES at HOME (“SAFE” PLACE…hopefully) that JESUS is LORD and SAVIOR…HERE’S the DEAL…It’s GOOD for our MINDS to be “TAUGHT” all of these things about GOD…but if our HEARTS are NOT “CAUGHT” by GOD; NONE of it will make a BIT of DIFFERENCE in our SOULS. YOU SEE, our MINDS are “TAUGHT”…but our HEARTS are “CAUGHT”. GOING “DEEP” with Jesus is NOT about becoming “MORE INTELLECTUAL”…IT’S ABOUT BECOMING “MORE INTIMATE”!
ILLUSTRATION #2- Measuring Tape
I have TOLD you guys at FUSION and I think I even mentioned it at Junior High Breakthru last year…the DIFFERENCE of someone being SAVED and NOT SAVED is 16 inches…that’s the AVERAGE length FROM the HEAD to the HEART. I want to say that that is the SAME DISTANCE from the “SHALLOW” END to the “DEEP” END of CHRISTIANITY! “Shallow” Christians are “TAUGHT” ABOUT Jesus. “DEEP” Christians are “CAUGHT” BY Jesus…(Everyone say “CAUGHT”…turn to your neighbor and say “CAUGHT”) “CAUGHT” UP into His life…SWEPT up in His Love…WRAPPED” UP in His Prayers…HIS LIFE is YOUR LIFE…in other words: “DEEP” CHRISTIANS NOT ONLY “*LEARN* about JESUS” on Sundays and Wednesdays…they “*LIVE* like JESUS” 7 days a week! Here are SOME VERY “PRACTICAL” DIFFERENCES between being “TAUGHT” and “CAUGHT”
C. TAUGHT/CAUGHT PRACTICAL
We are “taught” to forgive, but if we are not “caught” by the HEART of Jesus, we “DROWN/SINK” in a DEEP SEA of BITTERNESS (that is shallow).
We are “taught” to pray, but if we are not “caught up and wrapped up” in the BURDEN CHRIST has for the WORLD/LOST/HURTING, we don’t make praying our LIFE. (that’s shallow)
We are “taught” that reading the Bible is a good thing, but if we are not “caught” by the Word become Flesh, it sits on the shelf.
We are “taught” to honor our parents, but if we are not “caught”, we don’t listen to them. The LIST GOES ON….
We are “taught” to say no to drinking, but if we are not “caught” up in Jesus, we are “caught up” in peer pressure…we drink to look cool…
If we are NOT “CAUGHT” up in JESUS, we can get “CAUGHT UP” in computer porn…
If we are NOT “CAUGHT UP” in our SAVIOR, we can get “CAUGHT UP” in SIN… making fun of people…gossiping…lying…cheating…we don’t serve our church or our community…
We don’t love those who hate us…we don’t make friends with those who have no friends…we don’t care about our teachers…we would rather goof off than help a neighbor
D. TANGLED UP: Caught up in something
HERE’S THE DEAL: We are all “CAUGHT UP” in something. Sometimes we live like we are in a NET and we get “ALL TANGLED UP”! What are you “TANGLED UP…“CAUGHT UP” in tonight…WHITNEY and I are, in a good way, are “CAUGHT UP” in our DAUGHTER, KATE GRAY! I know Junior High and Highschool years you can get ALL “CAUGHT UP” in a CERTAIN BOY or a CERTAIN GIRL…We can get “CAUGHT UP” in FACEBOOK (if you have one)…it’s AN OBSESSION! What are YOU “CAUGHT UP” in??? You know what it is because you can’t stop doing it…you can’t stop thinking about it…ARE YOU “CAUGHT UP” in Jesus?? Hopefully some of us can say, “I can’t STOP thinking about Jesus”…if you can say that you know you are “CAUGHT” by Him…maybe some of us CAN’T say that…Maybe the only time we think of Him is on Sunday morning when we are “TAUGHT” about Him. What are you “CAUGHT UP” in?
IS it a MATERIAL POSSESSION (me and the iPhone)…
A quest for POPULARITY…
JEALOUSY?
Maybe EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES have you ALL “TANGLED UP”…your “TO-DO” IS LIST IS FULL but YOUR SOUL is EMPTY…
Maybe MAKING THE TEAM is EVERYTHING to you…MAYBE NOT MAKING the TEAM seems like the “END” of the WORLD…
Maybe you have “EMOTIONAL” WOUNDS that RUN down “DEEP” within your SOUL…you have been “DEEPLY HURT”…you have “DEEP REGRETS”…ANXIETIES and WORRIES that go “DOWN” to the CORE of YOUR SOUL…
ILLUSTRATION #3- Journey down
ANYBODY seen “JOURNEY to the CENTER of the EARTH (3 D)”? Remember the scene where they are falling to the very CORE of the earth and they are falling and falling and falling and falling…and the dude says, “We’re still falling!” Some of you may feel like that…you keep falling…maybe you are falling more and more into confusion…into DOUBTS about who GOD is…DOUBTING that GOD EXISTS, or LOVES and CARES about you…falling into FEAR…into INSECURITIES...into FAMILY PROBLEMS…into THOUGHTS that you will NEVER BE GOOD ENOUGH, PRETTY ENOUGH, SMART ENOUGH…YOU WANT “SO BAD” to GO “DEEPER” with JESUS, but you just CAN’T get out of the HOLE you’re FALLING in. Here’s the DEAL YOU and I are ONLY “ONE SMALL” act of OBEDIENCE away from EXPERIENCING A “REAL”; “DEEP”; “INTIMATE” RELATIONSHIP with JESUS CHRIST…THE GOD who DOES EXIST…the GOD does CARE and LOVE for YOU “DEEPLY”!
II. “GOING TO THE DEEP”
A. ‘NO’ THANKS
You will notice in VERSE 3, Simon OBEYED one “LITTLE” request of Jesus and it ended up PREPARING him to OBEY even a “LARGER” COMMAND of Christ. Take a LOOK at verses 3-5—(READ v3-5)—STOP at 5a NOW, a “SHALLOW” Christian would STOP at the “END” of this SENTENCE—
A “SHALLOW” Christian might go on to say, “JESUS…I’ve already been in those “WATERS”…I “CAUGHT” nothing… “I’ve tried PRAYER…I’ve gotten NO answers…I’ve tried READING the BIBLE…it’s BORING…It’s too hard to understand…I’ve tried DGROUPS and BIG CHURCH…I’m not really getting much SPIRITUAL DEPTH out of it…BEEN THERE and DONE THAT Jesus…with NO LUCK…I think I’ll stay put in the “SHALLOW”…Thanks but no thanks!”
SIMON PETER could have said all that…He could have said, “Jesus, we are NOT going FISHING anymore…ESPECIALLY NOT in the “DEEP”…it’s DAY TIME…YOU don’t FISH in the “DEEP” during “DAYTIME” JESUS…DURRHHH! I THINK I *KNOW* a little bit more about this than you do!”
ILLUSTRATION #1- knowing more than the old folks!
HOW many of you BELIEVE YOU “KNOW” MORE than your PARENTS “KNOW”? A lot of teenagers do…they feel their parents are just a little bit out of touch with reality! Especially when it comes to computers…technology…cell phones! That’s what SIMON might have felt like with JESUS…
B. ‘NOT’ MAKING SENSE…making something out of our lives
You see, JESUS was a “CARPENTER”, SIMON PETER was “THE FISHERMAN”…and here JESUS is telling SIMON “HOW and WHERE” to FISH…IN THOSE DAYS, in the Sea of Galilee (Lake of Gennesaret), you would FISH in the “DEEP” at NIGHT and in the “SHALLOW” during the DAY…Here, it is “DAY” time and JESUS is COMMANDING that SIMON FISH in the “DEEP”…EVEN AFTER he had SPENT “ALL NIGHT” in the DEEP with NO LUCK. IT MADE “NO” SENSE WHAT-SO-EVER to SIMON! … COULD it be, that when things DON’T MAKE SENSE in our lives…that JESUS is about to MAKE SOMETHING of OUR LIVES!
C. ‘NOW’ IT’S MAKING SENSE…5 words
THAT’S WHAT I LOVE ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS NEXT! Earlier we said the difference between a “SHALLOW CHRISTIAN” and a “DEEP CHRISTIAN” is 16 inches (HEAD to HEART). Here we find out it is also, the distance of 5 WORDS’—(READ v 5 AGAIN)—(SAY, “BUT BECAUSE YOU SAY SO” with ME…SAY it AGAIN…SAY it AGAIN…SAY IT AGAIN! I PRAY THOSE 5 WORDS will become YOUR “RESPONSE” to JESUS every TIME He calls you to DO SOMETHING…even when YOU think YOU KNOW BETTER than He does…EVEN when THINGS DON’T MAKE SENSE!!!
D. ‘NEXT’ 5 WORDS
I LOVE the next 5 WORDS AFTER THAT –(READ v6)—ONE SMALL ACT of OBEDIENCE RESULTED ONE LARGE CATCH of FISH! The SMALLEST of things can have the BIGGEST IMPACT.
ILLUSTRATION
In 1960, an MIT weather man named Edward Lorenz discovered that sometimes the “SMALLEST” change has the “BIGGEST EFFECT”. He was trying to develop a computer program that could SIMULATE and FORECAST weather conditions. One day, like a lot of us, he was BUSY and in a HURRY! He was supposed to put in a NUMBER into His computer PROGRAM…it was a NUMBER he used in an earlier TRIAL. Instead of putting in .506127, he rounded to the nearest thousandth and put in .506. Rounding to the nearest thousandth…no big deal right? Well, he left his lab for a while. When he came back, he found a RADICAL CHANGE in the weather conditions. He estimated that the difference between the ORIGINAL NUMBER and the ROUNDED NUMBER was equal to a “PUFF” of wind created by a BUTTERFLY’S WING. He concluded that a MINOR EVENT like the FLAPPING a BUTTERFLY’S WING, FOR EXAMPLE, in New York, could cause a high wind storm in Mississippi. This is known as the “BUTTERFLY” EFFECT.
EXPLANATION
SIMON’S “BUTTERFLY EFFECT” was found in 5 words, “BUT BECAUSE YOU SAY SO”…he went from being a “SHALLOW” CHRISTIAN to being a “DEEP” CHRISTIAN…he went from CATCHING “MINNOWS” and “TILAPIA” to CATCHING “MEN”—(READ v10b)--. In the BOOK of ACTS (chapter 2), he PREACHED a SERMON AND about 3000 people were BAPTIZED and RECEIVED JESUS CHRIST as their LORD and SAVIOR! The BEGINNING of that SERMON really began with those 5 WORDS that day in LUKE 5, “But because you say so.” Those 5 words were his “BUTTERFLY EFFECT.” They ALTERED the COURSE of his life and the life of 3000 others! Think of what ONE SMALL PRAYER could do for your life or someone else’s life. Think how it could “alter” the course of your life or someone else’s!
APPLICATION
Is there ONE SMALL thing YOU and I need to do tonight or this weekend to alter the course of our life with Jesus? One small ACT of OBEDIENCE that can take us from being “TAUGHT” by JESUS to being “CAUGHT” by Him? What is yours? Is it a PRAYER? Is it daily Bible reading? Is it HITTING the “X” button on the computer site you should not be looking at? Is it FORGIVING someone? Maybe it’s CONFESSING JESUS CHRIST as YOUR LORD and SAVIOR for the FIRST TIME and letting HIM “CATCH YOU”!
CONCLUSION
A. CONFESS as LORD
That’s what SIMON did…he “CONFESSED” JESUS as “LORD” when he saw the INCREDIBLE “CATCH” of FISH…everything that was “DEEP” withIN SIMON…all his feelings about himself…all his feelings about Jesus…ALL CAME to the “SURFACE” AND this is what happened—(READ v8)—
B. UNDERSTAND as LORD
Simon may not have completely understood that Jesus was LORD of the earth at this moment in time, but he knew that he was in the PRESENCE of HOLINESS…in the PRESENCE of GREATNESS…and he said, “Go away from me Lord; I am a sinful man.” This verse is NOT SO MUCH about the SINFULNESS of SIMON as it is about the HOLINESS of JESUS CHRIST! I think sometimes we UNDERESTIMATE just how “HOLY” and “AMAZING” Jesus is. SIMON REALIZED IT! All of sudden the “MURKY WATERS of LIFE” became “CLEAR”…he saw himself and Jesus in TRUE LIGHT and although he “ASKED” Jesus to “GO AWAY” from him JESUS DID NOT “GO AWAY”…*(I LOVE THAT about the SON of GOD)*! He didn’t “GO AWAY”…He INVITED SIMON into the “DEEPEST” ADVENTURE LIFE has to OFFER …that’s where I end and Sallie will begin tomorrow night.
RESPONSE
Before we close though, I want to ask the QUESTION:
1. “HAVE you been TAUGHT more about GOD than you have been “CAUGHT” by GOD? Think about where YOU WOULD SIT if you were IN THIS STORY TONIGHT…THIS RELATIONSHIP NARRATIVE---
2. Would you have “STAYED” on the SHORE or would you “GO to the DEEP” with JESUS?
3. This MAY seem a bit STRANGE to some of you…IT MAY NOT…some of you may PRAY like this at HOME by YOUR BED…SIMON PETER got on HIS KNEES before JESUS and ASKED HIM TO “GO AWAY”. I want us ALL to GET ON OUR KNEES BEFORE JESUS TONIGHT and “ASK” Him a couple of QUESTIONS…we’ll ALL to do it so NO ONE STANDS out…I WANT US TO GET ON OUR KNEES and PRAY at LEAST 2 PRAYERS: (Let’s get on our knees, close our eyes…Taylor and the Band will play background music for us…
(A) THE FIRST PRAYER: You maybe here TONIGHT and you are NOT A CHRISTIAN…but for SOME REASON, TONIGHT, you may “FEEL” like CHRIST HAS WRAPPED HIS ARMS around You “LIKE A NET” and “CAUGHT” YOU---you can’t EXPLAIN the FEELING in your STOMACH…you’ve GOT CHILLS---if you FEEL like that I want you to pray these WORDS SILENTLY AFTER ME:
“JESUS CHRIST, MASTER and LORD, I CONFESS YOU as LORD and SAVIOR of my LIFE. PLEASE FORGIVE me of my SINS. YOU HAVE GIVEN ME YOUR LIFE…NOW YOU HAVE MINE…TAKE ME DEEPER with YOU, in JESUS NAME, AMEN!”
(B) The SECOND PRAYER is for ANY of YOU who want to be “CAUGHT” by JESUS…you WANT to go “DEEPER” with HIM and STOP LIVING “SHALLOW” CHRISTIANITY…or even if YOU are a “DEEP” CHRISTIAN, you can always go “DEEPER”…this PRAYER is for YOU TOO…PLEASE PRAY this PRAYER SILENTLY AFTER ME if you wish:
“LORD CHRIST, YOU HOLD all the ANSWERS to LIFE even when I think I am the one who knows best. Please forgive me for NOT TRUSTING YOU. I’M READY. PLEASE take me “DEEPER” with you this weekend and for the rest of my life. May I be CAUGHT UP “in” YOU and may I CATCH OTHERS “for” you. In JESUS NAME, AMEN!
