LUKE 5:1-11 THE PATH TO BECOME A DISCIPLE2011 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Luke 5:1-11 The Path To Become A Disciple

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You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2011.

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In Luke chapter 5, we see Peter's journey, thank you George, to become a disciple. And we're going to be looking at this as a pattern for our own lives on how we can be the disciples of Jesus. And as we begin to talk about this idea of being a disciple, I would first of all ask you,

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Are you a disciple of Jesus? Is that a good description of you? Is that a title that fits you in your life and where you're at today? Not 10 years ago or five weeks ago, but today, are you a disciple of Jesus? Pastor Greg Laurie, in his book on discipleship, says, Every disciple is a Christian, but not every Christian is a disciple.

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Let me throw that at you again. Consider it. Every disciple is a Christian, but not every Christian is a disciple. There's a distinction that is made between one who has made Jesus their Savior and believed in him for salvation to one who has, like Peter does here at the end of this portion, forsaken all to follow Jesus. Are you a disciple of Jesus Christ?

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Now let me instruct you or encourage you in this, that God wants you to be a disciple. God wants every person to be a disciple. We know this from Matthew chapter 28 verse 19, where Jesus gives the instruction, "...go therefore and make disciples of all the nations."

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Not some of the nations, not the select few, not certain people within the nations, but his desire is for all the nations to be disciples. And our commission, our job is to make disciples in all the nations. So what is a disciple? What is it that God desires for us to be? What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus? Well, the word disciple, it means to be a learner or a pupil.

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But not in a simple sense like we might think or we might want it to mean, where it just means to be instructed or to know about. But really a disciple carries along the meaning that you accept the instruction that's given and you make it your rule of conduct. That is, your lifestyle is based upon the teaching. That your lifestyle is based upon what has been presented to you, what you've been instructed in. And so it's not just instruction.

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acknowledging it in your mind or being able to recite it back or being able to teach or say certain things, but it's living your life based upon the instruction that is given. And you can see that also in the Great Commission in Matthew 28 verse 20, as he continues on from saying, go make disciples, he goes on to say, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you.

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And so you see, the objective is for us to put into practice and obey everything that Jesus commanded. That's what it means to be a disciple. Now, God wants us to be disciples primarily because it is what is best for us. It's for your sake that he calls you to be a disciple because you can experience the fullness of the life that he's planned for you only when you are a disciple.

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And so there's great things in store for those who will forsake all and follow Jesus and be the disciple that he calls us to be.

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But he also tells us in Luke chapter 14 to count the cost. There's great things in store for his disciples, but it comes at a cost. And it's something you need to consider. In Luke chapter 14 verse 33, Jesus says, Whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be my disciple. If you cannot forsake everything that you have, Jesus says, you cannot be.

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Be my disciple. There's a cost involved. There's a sacrifice involved. We must be able. We must respond to him in forsaking all to be his followers. You see, it's one thing to be like Jesus. It's, I'm sorry, not be like Jesus. It's one thing to like Jesus.

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It's one thing to love Jesus, to be excited about Jesus. It's one thing to have him in your life and to enjoy his teaching and, you know, read his books. It's one thing to include him in your life. But it's a whole nother thing to forsake all and follow him, to be a disciple of Jesus. Are you one of his disciples?

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Now, as we see today in our portion, for Peter, it was a process. I believe it's a similar process for us, and that's why I'm sharing it with you today. Now, it starts, however, not in our portion, but backing up a little bit. The discipleship process for Peter really started with his introduction to Jesus, and that's not here in chapter 5. This isn't his first encounter with Jesus. He first met Jesus in John chapter 1.

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where John the Baptist pointed him out and said, look, the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. And Andrew, which is Peter's brother, was a disciple of John the Baptist. And he grabbed his brother Peter and said, let's check him out. Let's go find out what he has to say.

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We also know that Jesus was at Peter's house. Back in chapter 4 we saw that. He healed Peter's mother-in-law. And so he'd heard Jesus teach before. He had him over for lunch or for dinner. He had him stay at his house for a little bit. They had a little bit of connection. They knew each other already.

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It's also possible that the accounts that are written in Matthew chapter 4 and Mark chapter 1 are separate accounts than what we're reading today. Most Bible teachers believe that. And so this is the third, perhaps the fourth encounter that Peter has had with Jesus and maybe even more than that.

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And so it's not his first introduction. It's not the first time he's ever seen Jesus. But it's the time that he comes to the point where he makes the decision to be the disciple of Jesus. And so it's a significant time because here he forsakes all. And as we look at this again, I want to ask you, are you a disciple of Jesus? For Peter, it was process. And for us, it's a process as well. And as we look at the process that the Lord brought Peter through,

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I would ask you to consider where on the path are you? On the path to become a disciple, where are you? As we follow Peter's steps, consider where you're at and if you're progressing forward.

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to become the disciple that Jesus desires for you to be. Well, there's four points we'll be looking at, four steps on the path to discipleship as we look at this portion. The first one we find in verses 1 through 3, and that is you answer a request. We see Peter here responding and answering a request that the Lord gives him. Look at verse 1 again. It says,

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So it was, as the multitude pressed about him to hear the word of God, that he stood by the lake of Gennesaret, and saw two boats standing by the lake. But the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. Then he got into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat."

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So here we find Jesus. He's going about his ministry. And as it always was, when Jesus was around, there were crowds around him. It describes it as multitudes around him. He's up in the northern part of Israel in the region of Galilee. And it says here he's next to the Lake of Gennesaret. And the Lake of Gennesaret, it's another name for the Sea of Galilee.

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The Sea of Galilee, sometimes we think of, you know, the Sea of Galilee and we think of like a big ocean. But really it's kind of a small lake. It's a freshwater lake. It's 13 miles long and 7 miles wide. So that would be somewhat comparable in the same ballpark as perhaps Lake Matthews, Lake Paris nearby. It's about half the size of Lake Tahoe, Tahoe.

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And to kind of give you some perspective on the size. And so he's up there by the Sea of Galilee. The Sea of Galilee was full of life and so they would fish out of it. They would survive by eating the food that they caught or selling it in the marketplace. And it was the livelihood of these fishermen that he's coming in contact with.

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Well, as he's there on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, the multitude is pressing about him. As you could imagine, they would want to be near Jesus and hear him, and they would want to touch him in some cases. And so the multitude is pressing about him, and he sees the two boats that are there that have been brought up to the shore. And so he goes and he gets in one of the boats, which is Peter's boat, and he tells Peter, rather he asks Peter,

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to push the boat out from the shore a little bit. And from there, just off the shore, he was able to teach the multitudes. And you can see it formed kind of a natural amphitheater, where he would have a little bit of distance between him and the crowd so that the sound could carry and the water would help his voice carry to be able to allow the crowd, the multitude, to be able to hear him teach.

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But it also provided him some distance so that the crowd wasn't pushing up against him. It gave him a little bit of safety there as he was teaching the people. And so he's in the boat. He's out a little bit from the shore. He's teaching the people and God's doing a great work. But here we're focusing on Peter. And the boat that he's in is Peter's boat. And it says there in verse 3 that he asked him to put out a little from the lamp.

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So he makes a request to Peter. This word to ask, it's a gentle word. It means to desire or to request. It's

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Usually used in the idea of requesting something of someone who is an equal to you. So if you could think about maybe the workplace, you know, it's not a boss telling you what to do, but it's someone who's a peer and you're asking, hoping, you know, can you please do me a favor? You're not responsible directly to me. You're not obligated to do what I say, but you know, could you please help me in this area? Could you please help with this? That's the kind of idea that's associated with this word to ask.

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And so Jesus doesn't demand or require or, you know, tell him, hey, I'm God, do what I say or else. He says, hey, Peter, if it's not too much trouble, could you push out a little bit from the shore? He makes a request, a simple request. And that is what we see as the beginning of the path to become a disciple. When God gives us a request, a favor. Now, God doesn't

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ask of us a favor because he needs a favor. He's God. He doesn't need us. He can provide his own means, his own resources. But because he wants to include us in his work, he invites us to participate by presenting us a request. Jesus, we understand, we'll see later on in the scriptures, he walks on water. So he didn't need Peter's boat. He could have just walked out right onto the Sea of Galilee, turned around, taught the people.

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He didn't need the boat, but he included Peter in his work. He got him the opportunity to share in the work, to share in the reward, to participate in the work that God was doing. Now, as we look at this example of Peter today, my goal here, the objective that God has given us is to challenge you and to challenge myself to determine where are we in the path to be a disciple.

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And to help us do that, I've created some characters that maybe you can relate to and kind of help you find some direction from God in where you're at on the path and help clarify what God is calling you to do.

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Now, these are fictional. I made them up, okay? I'm not trying to point fingers at anybody or make anybody feel bad, but just some things that the Lord put up on my heart. And so, I want to first of all introduce you to Joe. This is Joe here. He's young. He's got a bright future ahead of him. He's really looking forward to the success that's going to come in his life. Now, Joe knows Jesus. He's been around youth groups. He's been around some college Bible studies. And

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He's had Jesus over to his home once or twice. You know, he's connected with them. He's prayed to him occasionally. And he's got some, like Peter had, he got some, you know, acquaintanceship with Jesus. He knows about him. He knows him a little bit. And as he begins this path to become a disciple, it begins with a request where God really begins to speak to his heart. Hey, Joe, why don't you start coming to church? Why don't you start to be faithful on a Sunday morning and attend church?

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And so Joe is hearing God speak to him and feeling this conviction and the Lord speaking and working in his life. And he begins to reason with himself, you know, that's not so bad. You know, I like church and it's pretty enjoyable and entertaining. And if it's not too much of an inconvenience, you know, I'll go when I can. I'll respond to that request and I'll go as I have opportunity. As I'm able, I'll start going to church. Well, the second character we have to look at as an example this morning is

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is Michelle. Meet Michelle. Good looking grandma, right? She grew up in church. She's known the Lord. She's walked around, you know, the things of God for a long time. She loves worship and to worship and to sing. And she's really looking forward at this stage of life to her retirement. She's really looking forward to that time where she can finally be free and have more time to just relax and do the things that she wants to do.

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Well, in her stage of life, God now presents her a request. And God says, hey, Michelle, I'd really love it if you would start praying for this certain group of kids in Asia. It's her first step in the path to be a disciple. And she thinks, you know, I could do that.

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You know, I don't know these kids. I don't know anything about them. I don't know anybody over there. But yeah, I'll pray. I'll add them to my prayer list and I can pray for them regularly. That's going to be fine. It's going to be good. She'll respond to the request that God has given to her. Well, the third character we have today is Carol. Meet Carol. She's a single mom of three. She struggles really hard just to make ends meet, just to be able to put food on the table and keep a roof over their head.

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She wishes that God would send her a husband or a vacation, whichever is easiest. And she begins the path to become a disciple with a request from God. As God speaks to her heart, he begins to impress upon her to read the Bible to her kids daily.

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And so this request is given to her. She hears God speaking this to her heart and she wrestles with it because she says, you know, God, I really don't have time. I mean, I'm exhausted at the end of the day. I'm working so hard just trying to make things work and be a good mom. But she ends up saying, but I'll try. I'll try, Lord. I'll do my best to answer that request and read to my children regularly.

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Well, finally, character number four, we have businessman Herman. He's a successful businessman. He's got a nice home, several cars, and very expensive tastes. And so he begins the path to become a disciple as God puts upon his heart this idea. Hey, Herman, you should open up your home and allow for a Bible study to take place there in your house. Now, as Herman begins

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receives this request from the Lord, he really cringes a little bit. He kind of, ah, he's real uncomfortable with it because in his mind, he's thinking about the people that will come and specifically their feet, their shoes, walking all over his very nice carpet that he loves so much.

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And he cringes. He thinks about, oh man, even if I make them take off my shoes, then their toes will be in my carpet. And I don't know if I would like that. I don't think I can handle that. And then he begins to think about, man, what if they bring kids and then things get broken and

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As he wrestles with it, he thinks, well, you know, I guess it'd be okay as long as people are careful. And, you know, if something gets broken, then I can just, you know, pay less on my tithe to recover the cost, you know, of that thing that's broken. And so he agrees. Yeah, I'll allow a Bible study in my home.

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And so these four characters, we'll kind of follow them along the path to become a disciple and see where they end up. And hopefully God will use it to challenge you and where you are in the path to become a disciple. Are you a disciple of Jesus? Now, as we start here, looking at the first, the request, I would ask, is this where you are?

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Has God been prompting your heart or putting something upon your heart that maybe we would call it like a little favor? It's a simple request. He's not asking you to sell everything and move to Africa, but he's saying, hey, would you open up your home? Or would you step out in this way? Would you serve in the nursery? Would you be obedient or respond to this request that I'm presenting to you?

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Well, I would encourage you, if that's where you are, then to take that step to answer and fulfill the request that God has given to you and progress down the path to be a disciple of Jesus. Well, as we continue on, the second thing we find as we look at Peter's example on the path to become a disciple, we find that you will receive or you will obey a command.

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First Peter received a request, now Jesus issues a command. Look at verse 4. It says, Verse 6.

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And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish and their net was breaking. Here as we see the second portion on the path to become a disciple, a command is given to Peter. Jesus has finished speaking. His teaching is over. The crowd's dispersing. Jesus looks over at Peter and says, hey, Peter, launch out into the deep.

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Go out to the deeper waters and throw out your nets. Let's go fishing, Peter. Now, Jesus gives Peter this command. And for Peter, it's a command that does not make very much sense. And you can see that in Peter's response. He says, Peter was a professional fisherman. That was his living. That was his livelihood. He knew how to fish.

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And the way that they would fish in the Sea of Galilee is to fish overnight. And so he'd been up all night fishing. They hadn't caught anything, but they'd been working hard trying to catch something. And so by this time, he's tired. He's already worked a full night. Jesus is now asking him to work a double shift. But on top of that, it's a time when you're not supposed to go fishing. It's not successful. It's not productive to go fishing during the day.

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But Peter says, nevertheless, at your word, I will let down the net. And so although it doesn't make sense in Peter's mind, although he's tired, it's really inconvenient. It's not, you know, his optimal day after getting off work, you know, that he wants to go out and work again and catch nothing again because, of course, it's not the best time to fish. But he says, nevertheless, okay, Jesus, at your word, because you say so, I will let down the nets.

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David Guzik points it out this way. He says the only reason why Peter did what Jesus asked was because he believed in Jesus, not because the circumstances seemed right. So it wasn't like, oh, the tides changed and now's the chance to go get the fish. The only reason was because he believed Jesus. He'd been around, he'd heard him teach, he'd watched him heal his mother-in-law. So he says, okay, if you tell me to go put out my net, I'm going to go put out my net.

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And so Peter does. He launches out into the deep. He casts out his net onto the water. And it says, when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish and their net was breaking. He received a command. He obeyed the command. And then the results of obeying that command were overwhelming. The net could not contain the catch that was provided. It was a miraculous catch of fish. Jesus gave the command. Peter obeyed.

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And there was miraculous results. Well, as we look at these characters that I've introduced to you today, let's take a look at the next step and their path to become a disciple. You remember Joe. He's now been going to church for a few months. And he's enjoying it. The pastor does a pretty good job and keeps him awake most of the time. But as he's been coming to church, now the Lord is giving him a command.

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He first answered the request to go to church. But now there's more force with this next request. It's a command that's given. The Lord is telling him to give up a particular area of sin in his life. And he's really wrestling with it. Because he's had that area of sin. He's had that issue. He's dealt with it for a very long time. And as Joe is wrestling with this, he finally determines, he concludes, you know what, that's just too hard.

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I cannot obey that command. I cannot give up that sin. I will not let go of that. And so as a result, Joe makes the decision to walk away. He leaves the path to become a disciple. Even though he still might come to church, he's left the path because he's refusing to obey the command of Jesus. Well, we have a little bit higher hopes with Michelle. She says,

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She's looking forward to retiring, but she's been diligent. She's been faithful to pray for those poor kids in Asia that the Lord had put upon her heart. Well, now she's been praying for them. Well, the Lord has been speaking to her a command. The command, hey, Michelle, you need to take a short-term mission trip and go visit those kids you've been praying for.

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And she thought, well, that's why I didn't want to start praying for them in the first place, because I didn't want to go visit them. I didn't want to go see them. She begins to ask, I don't know, Lord, at my age, you know, is it really safe for me to go? Lord, I'm going to have to dip into my France vacation fund in order to be able to go and meet these kids and minister to them on this mission trip.

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But as she wrestles with it, she knows this is what God wants me to do. And so she books the ticket. She purchases the flight and she begins to make plans to head out to meet those kids that she's been praying for. Well, third, we have Carol. Single mom, Carol. And she has been reading the Bible to her kids most days. Some days she's missed, but most days she's been able to spend some time with them and encourage them in the things of God.

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Well, she gets off work one day. She's walking down the street. She's tired from a long day, but she begins to hear God speak to her heart again. In the same way that he spoke to her heart about reading the Bible to her kids, he began to speak to her and he instructed Carol to talk to that lady that's sitting there on the bench. This is way outside of Carol's comfort zone. She's never done anything like this.

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She's thinking to herself, well, this is the only time I've had a moment to myself all day. This was supposed to be my me time. This is for me to relax and recoup. But she wrestles with it. And finally, with a sigh, she says, okay, okay, I'll go and tell her that you love her.

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Well, finally, Herman, as he continues on the path to become a disciple, the Bible study at his house is going well. He's learned not to care so much about the carpet and be concerned with the things getting broken. But now as he's been enjoying this Bible study that's going on, God is giving to him a command. And he hears clearly the voice of the Lord. And God is speaking to his heart that he needs to now step up and teach the Bible study that's meeting in his home.

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And Herman is really wrestling with this because, well, that's an extra 10 hours a week of studying. And he says, I just really don't have time for that. Finally, he decides, well, God, if you want this, then of course I need to be obedient. And so I'm sure I can squeeze it in. And he commits to and he agrees to teach the Bible study that's meeting in his home.

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And so you can see in these characters a little bit of progression as they answered the request, except for Joe who responded and said, no, never mind, I don't want to obey that command. But they answered the request and then they went on to say, yes, I'll obey the command. This next thing, this further thing that you're speaking to my heart, God, I want to be obedient to you.

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And I would ask you this morning, is this where you are as a believer in Jesus? It's not just a simple favor, a simple request that God has put upon your heart, but it's a command that's going to require some commitment, some sacrifice. It's a command that's going to require something of you that you're uncomfortable with. Or maybe it doesn't make sense in your head, like it didn't make sense to Peter to go fishing out in the middle of the day.

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But there's this command that's burning on your heart and God has been speaking to you to do something, perhaps something difficult. I want to encourage you to be obedient to the command that He's put upon your heart. Progress, continue on in the path to become a disciple of Jesus.

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Well, the third thing we find in verses 7 through 10, the third stage or step in the path to become a disciple, we see in Peter's example that you see your sinfulness. We see this in verse 7 through 10. It says this,

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So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees saying, Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord. For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken.

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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. So they're out there in the middle of the lake. He's cast out the net. The net has caught more fish than it's able to hold. It tells us in verse 6 that the nets are breaking.

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And so they realize we're going to need some help with this. And so he signals to their partners, hey, get out of here. I need some help with this catch of fish that I've got. And so they get out there in the boat and they begin now to unload the net into the boats. And the boats are so filled by this catch that now the boats began to sink.

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Now, as I was studying and preparing for this morning, I was really wondering about that. Like, how could you catch so much fish that the boat would sink? It doesn't make sense. Until I realized that nets are not designed to be full. Have you ever thought about that? Nets are not designed to be completely full. When you go fishing with a net,

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You're covering a large span of water hoping to catch whatever few fish might be there. But you're not expecting, you know, to be solid fish when you throw out the net and bring it back. You know, you don't get a thousand fish every time you throw out the net. You throw out the net and you get whatever happens to be in that area that didn't escape when you cast the net out. And so what's taking place here is something that is unprecedented.

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Because they're expecting, they're used to throwing out the net. And if there's some fish, you know, they'll catch some fish. But like they fished all night and they didn't catch anything, that was normal experience too. But they'd never experience something where they threw out the net and there was so much fish at the spot that they threw out the net that the net was completely full. But the net was unable to hold the catch that they had brought in.

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And so the net's big. They catch a lot of fish. They can't hold the fish that they caught. They fill the boats. And now both boats are beginning to sink. And it says that they are astonished at the catch of fish. They're blown away. This is not something that has taken place before. This is not something they've experienced before. They're beginning to recognize. I kind of visualize the light bulbs going on over their heads. This is not good luck.

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It's not just a good day of fishing or an exceptional catch. It's an impossible catch that could only be orchestrated by God. And as that is sinking in, Peter's realizing what this means. And he starts to freak out. And he tells Jesus, depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord. What is Peter saying? He says, I'm not worthy. He realizes, he recognizes, you are the Son of God. Only God could do this.

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You're in my presence. I'm with you. I'm sinful. I'm unworthy. Do you know what it's like to be used by God? Have you ever been in a situation where you did something that God asked of you and then God worked through it? If you've been in that situation, then you know how Peter felt when he said this. It's the way that we all feel when God works in our lives and through us. We realize how unworthy we are.

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When you encounter God, you realize that He really is God. And in the light of His brilliance, you easily see your own blemishes. You easily see where you fall short, where you fail, and how unworthy you are. It becomes so apparent as God works right there in your midst. Well, the same thing took place in our fictional characters. Almost retired Michelle, she went on that mission trip. She obeyed God and

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followed the command and the mission trip went great. She was able to connect with the kids that she'd been praying for. It was just amazing. Some of those kids gave their lives to Jesus as she was able to share the gospel with them. And while she was there, God even did some miracles and provision and healing. It was just amazing what God did. But as she was on the flight home from that trip, reflecting on and just thinking about those kids that she was able to minister to,

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rejoicing in the work that God had done through her. She began to have some flashbacks. She began to think back to her younger days. In her younger days, she wasn't doing so well. She had gotten in quite a bit of trouble. And even though she'd known God her whole life and walked with Him off and on, she'd been in a situation where it resulted with, it ended up with her getting an abortion.

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And as she had just ministered to these kids and loved on them, and it just was so exciting to watch God work in them. As she's on the way back, she's really beginning to feel the pain, the reality of what she had done in her younger years. The pain is, well, it's painful, and it hurts so much. And she begins to think about how old her child would have been, and she begins to wonder what they would have been like. And she wonders this, she ponders it, that the pain is so hard, it's so unbearable.

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She sees her own unworthiness. And God, how could you use me to minister to these kids when I did that? And as she wrestles with the pain and the thoughts, she makes a bad decision and she decides it's too hard. I don't think God can forgive me for this. I realize now what I did. I can't continue on with this. It's too hard. It's too painful. Although she won't admit it to herself, really, she can't believe that God could forgive her.

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Someone like her who did something like that. And so it results in her walking away from God. The next character, single mom Carol. She obeyed the command and she sat down at the bench and she talked to that lady and shared with her a little bit about God's love. Well, as they began to talk, Carol learns that this lady had just been praying.

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asking God, God, please let me know if you love me because I just want to end my life. I can't handle it anymore. I need you to let me know if you love me. And as she's praying that, right down next to her sits Carol, who begins to tell her the things that God has said about how much he loves her.

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And so she's able to minister to this lady and she walks away from that time just overwhelmed and rejoicing that, man, the timeliness was just perfect. Really, that was, God, that was you speaking to me. And then I responded and then you worked and oh, how amazing that was. As it begins to dawn on her, she realized that God really has been speaking to her. And that came along with an overwhelming sense of her own littleness and unworthiness.

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But although she felt that way, she knew what God said in his word. And so she didn't run from it, but she embraced it. She said, Lord, I want more of that. And she committed to the Lord. She said, Lord, if you speak to me like that again, I will obey. Well, then finally we have businessman Herman. He's been teaching the Bible study now. It's been going great. He's been loving it. You know, the Bible part anyway. The people he's still struggling with, but

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He loves studying. He loves teaching. He's having a great time. But as God is working and his people are being touched there in the Bible study, well, he's having an issue because some of the people are starting to call him or refer to him as Pastor Herman. And he's really uncomfortable with the title. He's really uncomfortable with what that means. And now people are coming to him to get some counsel, to get some advice in their life. And he's kind of starting to feel the burden of

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of the weight of what that is. He's seeing God work and that's great. But at the same time, he's beginning to see his own heart and the materialism that's there, the greed and the selfishness that he possesses. And so he's wrestling with what to do because he has these issues in his heart. The work of God is revealing his own conditions. Is this where you are? Is this part of the process that you are in that

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You've obeyed God and he's done a great work, but at the same time it's caused you to see your own sinfulness. When that happens in our lives, very often it's a crossroads. We come to a point we have to make a decision. Will you believe God at his word? Because he says, if you confess your sin, I'm faithful and just to cleanse you and forgive you of all unrighteousness.

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Will you believe God at his word? Will you come to him with your sinful condition, with your sinful heart, in your unworthiness? Will you approach him? Will you be obedient then? Or will you run away? Will you go forward in your relationship with God or will you walk away? I want to encourage you, if this is where you're at, where God's been showing you, he's been working and that's been good, but he's also been showing you the issues that are going on in your life, the issues that are there in your heart.

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And the enemy wants to use those things to discourage us and beat us up and say, see, you should just give up and quit. But God doesn't show us those things because he wants to beat us up, but because he wants us to bring them to him so he can deal with those issues, so he can work in those areas. I want to encourage you today. Take those hurts, take those burdens, take those sins to the cross. Take them to the Lord. As Peter says, cast your cares upon the Lord for he cares for you.

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Well, finally, the fourth step in Peter's process to become a disciple, we find in verse 11. And here we find, in order to be a disciple, you forsake all and follow. Look at verse 11. It says,

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the whatever value that would have brought in, the money that would have resulted. They left everything behind to follow Jesus. Now notice here, Jesus did not demand that they forsake all and follow him. He didn't say, now Peter, you better forsake everything and follow me. No, that's not what Jesus did. First he requested a favor. Hey, push out a little bit from the shore.

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Then he gave a command. Hey, why don't you go out, throw out the net, see what happens, see what God will do. And as Peter responded to those things and saw God work in those things, that was enough for him to decide, I'm going to leave everything behind and I'm going to follow Jesus. That was enough for him to determine, he's the one I want to live for. He's the one I want to be focused on. He's going to be the most important thing ever.

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in my life. And so he left behind the large catch. He left behind the boats. He left behind the servants. He left behind the business. Not because God laid some heavy burden or demand upon him. He volunteered. He signed up. He said, yeah, count me in. I'm going to follow Jesus. He's the son of God. He's the savior. And it was at this point that Peter really became a disciple of Jesus.

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It's the kind of the final step on this path to become a disciple. Becoming a disciple only takes place after a person forsakes all. It doesn't happen before that. Again, Luke chapter 14 verse 33, Jesus says, "'Whoever of you does not forsake all that he has, he cannot be my disciple.'" If you don't forsake everything that you have, Jesus says, "'You cannot be my disciple.'"

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Now some people come to this point where God's done a great work. You've obeyed Him. He's blessed. You have a great multitude of fish and you think, "Wonderful! I gotta increase my business. I gotta go down some new avenues." And instead of forsaking all and turning to Jesus and putting Him first, you make the business first. Make the catch first and try to pursue those things. Peter didn't do that. He didn't, you know, get more servants or buy more boats.

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He just left it all behind. Now, I'm not saying everybody has to quit their jobs, but we got to put Jesus first. He must be more important. He must be the most important thing in our life. We have to forsake everything in order to follow. In Luke chapter 14, there Jesus has a whole discourse about being a disciple and what it takes and how to count the costs. Because there's great blessings to be a disciple of Jesus and it's what God wants for us. It's what's best for us.

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But there is a sacrifice. You have to forsake sin. Of course, we know that. You've got to repent and turn from sin. You can't allow sin to continue in your life and be a disciple of Jesus. He also goes on to say you've got to forsake some good things. Some things that we would consider good, like a large catch of fish, or a business opportunity, or some money. You have to forsake. Those things cannot be more important to you than the Lord's.

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He also explains in that portion, you have to forsake yourself. Deny yourself and take up the cross and follow Jesus. Also, you have to forsake your family. You can't put your husband or your wife or your kids or your parents in front of Jesus in importance, in passion, in devotion. That Jesus must come first. You have to be willing to leave it all behind if that's what God asks, if that's the request that He gives.

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Well, as we finish up the story in our different characters, we only have two left. Carol, she's the single mom. She spoke with that lady there on the bench. She was amazed at the work of God. She was amazed at her own unworthiness. But she determined through that, no matter what God says, no matter when He says it, I'm going to obey Him. Even if I've worked a double shift, even if I'm tired, even if it doesn't make sense to me, even if it's outside of my comfort zone.

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When you speak to me like that, I'm putting you first. You're more important than anything else. So I'm going to do what you say when you speak to my heart. Herman, the businessman, he's doing things he's never done before in his business. He's walking away from $50,000 business deals when it compromises his integrity because he's determined, God, you're first. You're the most important thing.

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And I'm going to be faithful to you. He's even considering selling his business so that he can spend more time obeying God. Now again, these are fictional characters and I'm not secretly telling some of you to do things. No, no, no. Just giving you some examples for you to consider. Where do you stand? Where are you on the path to be a disciple? Is this last step where you are

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That you have forsaken all to follow Jesus? That He is the most important thing in your life? That He is the most important person to you? That nothing else comes between you and Him? Are you forsaking all to follow Jesus? Let me remind you, Luke 14, 33. Whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be my disciple. The only way. God called you to be a disciple, but the only way for you to be a disciple is for you to forsake all and follow Him.

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Now that sounds like a big thing, but it depends on where you are in the past. Right now, God may be just asking you a simple request. And our responsibility is to just respond. And so maybe he's asking you to open up your home, or maybe he's asking you to read the Bible to your kids, or pray for some kids on the mission field, or maybe serve in the children's ministry. It's a little request, a simple request. He's asking you, he's inviting you to participate in his work.

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Or maybe you're at the stage where God has issued you a command. It's more forceful. And you know, God is telling you, you don't have a choice. You must do the thing that he's required of you. And some people are not disciples because they will only do what makes sense to them. If it doesn't make sense to me, well, I won't do it. I don't get it, so I won't do it. How many times do we miss out on the work that God wants to do? Because we don't understand what God has commanded us to do.

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Or maybe you're in the third stage where you see your sinfulness. And some people are not disciples because they see their sinfulness and they just, they can't believe that God would forgive. That God would allow someone like me to participate in His work and to know Him, to walk with Him, to serve Him in this way. But the blood of Jesus is more than sufficient. And your sins are forgiven.

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We need to confess them. We need to come to him by faith and receive the forgiveness. So yes, see your sinfulness, but don't let that push you away. That's not why God shows it to you. Bring it to the cross. Surrender it to the Lord. Or are you in the fourth step on the path to become a disciple of Jesus? That you forsake all to follow Jesus. It's only then that we are his disciples. Only then. Now this passage,

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path to become a disciple is something that's ongoing and repeating. And many of you understand what I'm saying. We go through this, you know. You've come to the point where you've forsaken all and you're continuing on, but then God gives you a request and then a command. And then once again, you see your own sinfulness. And it's a continual choice, decision to progress, to draw near to God and He'll draw near to you.

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to continue to choose to be a disciple of Jesus and progress down this path when He gives you the request and the command, when you see your sinfulness, and when you have the opportunity to forsake all and follow Him. We've seen some people go through the cycle many times, but only get through the first couple steps. You know, they come to church for a while. They start to get involved. They start to hear from God. But then as God gives those commands, then they're out of here.

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Or as they see their own sinfulness, then they're out of here. Where are you at? Are you making the right decisions? Are you progressing to be a disciple of Jesus? Well, this morning, we get to conclude our service with a time of communion. And what a great opportunity to consider. As Jesus has called us to forsake all and follow him, we get to remember how he forsook all and gave himself for us.

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So the worship team is going to come up and get ready and the ushers are going to make ready as well. I want to encourage you to consider there in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus wrestled with the Father because he was about to go to the cross. And as he wrestled with the Father, as he prayed to the Father, he said, not my will, but your will be done. He came to the conclusion. He made the decision. I will forsake all to follow God's will.

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For their sake, for your sake, for my sake, he went to the cross on our behalf. He forsook all and he gave us communion as a reminder of what he accomplished for us. The bread represents his body that was broken for us and how sin was broken. The bondage to sin and death that we were trapped in has been broken. Those chains are no more. He also gave us the cup.

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As the reminder of his blood that was shed as he was nailed there to the cross. His blood was shed, it says, for the remission of sins, for the forgiveness of sins, that you and I could be forgiven and clean and have right standing with God. So it's a great opportunity for us to consider how Jesus forsook all and followed God's will. And as you received communion today, I want to encourage you to do the same.

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Receive it as a testimony to God saying, "Yes, Lord, I receive what you did for me and I forsake all to follow you." So they're going to pass out the bread and the cup. Hold both portions as we worship together and then we'll partake together at the end. Let's worship the Lord. We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of his word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.