Launch Out Into the Deep

     Simon stood up carefully, pressing his hands into his lower back. He could feel every muscle, tight and cramping, sore from the long night of bending and pulling. Squatting again by the lapping shore-water, he reached down to pick up the fishing net, scrubbing and picking at the lengths of intertwined vegetation.     
     At least the others shared in the tasks, their joint vessels standing empty by the lake shore of Gennesaret. Lake fishing wasn't a one man job, it took a team of people to manage the boat, pull the nets, and clean up after the night.
     This morning was unusual—not in the lack of a catch, that happened often enough, but in the crowd of people watching and thronging around. Several times he found himself motioning small children away from playing with the nets, tangling and tugging on them, making it harder to finish the chore. He wanted to get the job finished and to go home to rest.
     A large shadow fell across his hands in the early morning sunlight, and Simon looked up to see a man, simple and plain, gazing down at him. Even as he did, the people swarmed closer and closer, trampling the nets and pressing into him, pushing and asking questions.
      Simon looked at the growing multitude, and at his boat. Making a quick assessment of the situation, he got up, motioned to the man to climb in, and they set out a little from the shore. If they couldn't finish their job on land, he may as well wait until the crowd dispersed.
     Instead, the man began to teach the crowd, his voice carrying clearly over the water, the people quieting and sitting along the shore. When he was finished, he turned to Simon and said, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”
     Simon looked at Jesus, his thoughts in a turmoil. He was tired, and Jesus didn't know fishing. He was a master, a rabbi, a teacher of the Law. And they'd already tried-- it just wasn't a good time for fishing. And deep water?  That wasn't where they fished.  Their small boats weren't made well for deep sea fishing. 
    But in that moment, he made a decision. If only to show Jesus that it was pointless, they would go out again. “Master, we have worked hard all night and caught nothing; but because you say so, I will let down the net.”
    Simon motioned to the others, whose faces mirrored his own frustration and weary defeat. They picked up the oars and set out into the deep water, the waves increasingly swelling and splashing up over the sides. A little water in the boats would be fine, Simon knew. Too much and they would capsize.
     Simon and his partners picked up the large net and lowered it down into the water. Within moments the weight of the net increased and it became more and more difficult to hold on. Simon leaned over the edge, careful to keep the majority of the weight of his lower body within the boat. The ropes began to strain. At the corners, he could see them start to unravel and the cords start to snap.
     Signaling to their partners to come and help, the second boat sidled alongside, and together they heaved the load into both boats, filling them and causing the hulls to sink lower in the water. With the rocking swells, Simon saw the boats begin to take on more water.
     Fear, amazement and a raw sense of insufficiency, more than that--of defilement, gripped Simon's heart. He fell down at Jesus' knees in the boat. “Go away from me, for I am a sinful man, Lord!”
​     Jesus looked at Simon, and knew the magnitude of Simon's heartache and vulnerability. What Simon was now, he would no longer be. A picture of who Simon would become, transformed by Love, seeped into the voice of Jesus, now soft with compassion and hope: “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.” (Luke 5:1-11)
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Launch out into the deep
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     Sometimes it can feel like we have been using all our energy and time fruitlessly—like the thorns and thistles just keep coming, and no matter how hard we try, we come up empty, profitless. It can feel like we are trying to draw full and satisfied people to the Gospel when they feel no hunger or need for it. They aren't attracted to it, and they aren't interested in spending their time hearing. But Jesus, the Master Fisherman, knows just where the “fish” are, and how to draw them.
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     Often in the gospels, Jesus illustrates a principle first in a parable or symbolic story, and then developes it with further teaching or practical application. In Luke chapter five we see the same pattern. The story of the morning of fishing was meant for us to represent a principle of ministry of sharing the gospel in an effective and harvest producing way.

     Jesus' next three stories show the practical application of going “out into the deep” waters.

     Story one (v. 12-16) starts with a leper who approaches Jesus, needy and hungry for both inner and outer healing. The man has faith, Jesus touches the untouchable, and the man is made clean, both in his body and His spirit.

    The result?

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“...the report went around concerning Him all the more; and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by Him of their infirmities. So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed. (v. 15-16)

     To launch out into deep waters we must go to places of need.

    It is in the context of Jesus' obedience to go that those hungry for the gospel would approach Him as what could have seemed an interruption or distasteful distraction. As we go we need to stop, help them in their need and share the good news of what Jesus has done with them.
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      Story 2 (v. 17-26) involves another man, a paralytic, being brought to Jesus with a need, both physical and spiritual, to be forgiven and made functional. This time, his friends are desperate to get to Jesus through the crowd—the paralytic's friends pull away a hole in the roof to lower him down to Jesus. In spite of the criticism of the religious elite, Jesus not only heals the man, but forgives his sin as well.

The result?

“Immediately he rose up before them, took up what he had been lying on, and departed to his own house, glorifying God. And they were all amazed, and they glorified God and were filled with fear, saying, “We have seen strange things today!” (v. 25-26)

     To launch further into deeper waters, we must disciple those who come in an available way.

   As Jesus discipled the people who came to him, those desperate for the gospel would approach Him until they pressed through the busy-ness and crowd of the situation.  Again, what seemed to be an interruption was what His Father wanted in that moment. We need listen to the Spirit and remain flexible  to shift our focus as needed.

     Story number 3 (v. 27-32) revolves around a tax collector, Levi, a sinner and a cheat, who Jesus saw plying his dishonest trade and approached, offering to disciple him. At Levi's subsequent invitation into his life and into his friendship circle, that of other dishonest tax collectors and sinners, Jesus went home with him, shared in Levi's generosity, and engaged in conversation with his friends.

     Jesus was then criticized by the leading religious of His day, the pharisees and scribes, for such defiled behavior. Jesus responded to their criticism: “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” (v. 31-32)

     The result?

     To launch into the deepest waters, we will be going to those places where the awareness of the spiritual need is already there.  We must see them, and enter into their life.

      This is where some of the greatest harvest is....those who are hungry for the gospel-- the hurting, those acutely aware of their sin and need for forgiveness, those discarded by society, those “poor in spirit,” with an inner and humble sense and urgency about their destitution.  We will find that people are already seeking out the “net.” They are seeking that safety, belonging and wholeness that they may enter into as we point them to Jesus, their savior and healer.

​     And our nets will begin to break.
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Signal Our Partners
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     None of us are physically able to bear alone the burden of responsibility in carrying the gospel to people and discipling them into maturity.

     In Exodus 18, Moses is trying to lead and to judge a nation of millions. When his father-in-law Jethro visited and saw the extent of what he was doing, and that “the people stood before Moses from morning until evening”(v.13) for judgment and instructions, he said, “The thing that you do is not good. Both you and these people who are with you will surely wear yourselves out. For this thing is too much for you; you are not able to perform it by yourself.”
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     Jethro then gave Moses godly and wise counsel:

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"Listen now to my voice; I will give you counsel, and God will be with you: Stand before God for the people, so that you may bring the difficulties to God. And you shall teach them the statutes and the laws, and show them the way in which they must walk and the work they must do. Moreover you shall select from all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them....And let them judge the people at all times.... So it will be easier for you, for they will bear the burden with you. If you do this thing, and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all this people will also go to their place in peace.” (v. 17-23)

     When the nets begin to fill, we need to “signal” our partners in ministry, those who are called to the work of the gospel, and ask for their help. It can be self-gratifying to feel like this is our own ministry, or that we should retain the credit, but that will only result in a net that is broken and a catch that is lost.

     Let's share the work and responsibility, delegate and team task so that the ministry can get done-- His ministry, not ours, for we all serve the same Master and without Him we could do nothing.

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Humbly Acknowledge Jesus​

     Peter's humility and willing obedience at this critical juncture is one of those things that marked him for increased ministry—he knew where the credit lay, because he knew his own unworthiness, ignorance and need for Jesus in his own life. His response to Jesus' miracle and nearness was a gut-wrenching longing to get away to a place where he would feel more adequate, more self-equipped and more satisfied in his sin. But he knew that in his sinful inadequacy, he could work all night and catch absolutely nothing.

     Without Jesus, we can do ministry, exhaust ourselves, frustrate our teams, and abandon our families with our time—all for nothing.

     The Simon of the night before felt competent, satisfied and without need of help. The Simon of the morning was shattered, broken, needy and humbled.

     Like Simon, we may feel that after our hard work and long efforts we are exhausted and needy, bewildered and disillusioned. Perhaps we've seen Jesus at work in our lives, but at this point we may worry that we too sinful, too full of inadequacy and too weak for Jesus to call or use us. We may be too scared to be that close to a holy Jesus who calls us to let go of our unrelenting grasp on our possessions, home, relationships and reputations, worried about the potential loss and sacrifice.
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     With Jesus, the unrelenting toil is over. If we choose to serve Him, he bears the burden of directing where we go, who we speak to, and how we help. He sends us partners along the way. He does the work of cleansing, maturing and making our hearts holy and love-filled for the job ahead. He guarantees the results, because it's all about Him.

    Are you willing to launch out into the deep water with Jesus?  

"Don't be afraid, from now on you will catch men."

Luke 5:10b