LUKE 5 KEEP A FRESH WALK WITH JESUS2017 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Luke 5 Keep A Fresh Walk With Jesus

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 2017. Well, this morning as we look at Luke chapter 5, I really want to encourage you to keep a fresh walk with Jesus. I think as believers in Jesus, we all know what it's like to have those times and seasons where...

Man, there's just fresh work happening in our hearts. There's just that joy. There's that vibrancy in our relationship with God. And there's the work that's happening. There's the words that are being spoken. There's the life that is being poured out upon us by the Lord. And we also know those times and seasons where it's just like,

It's dry, it's dusty, and it's just a struggle even just to pray, to continue, to spend time in the Word. It's just real difficult to even maintain, and it just feels like you're in a desert, barren wasteland.

And this morning as we look at Luke chapter 5, I believe God's given us some insights into how to stay in that place of a fresh walk with Jesus. And I do believe that there are different seasons in our lives and even some of those dry and dusty seasons are part of God's work in us.

And so, you know, sometimes we're there just like Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted, right? In the same way, sometimes we're led by the Spirit that God would, you know, allow us to see what it's like without Him and that God would remind us of the need that we have for Him and how He can work in us. And yet at the same time, sometimes we get stuck in the dry and desert and just barren wasteland

And we just continue there and we don't go back to the life that God has for us and the vibrancy and the zest, you might say, you know, in our relationship with God and walk with God that he has for us.

for us. And so this morning, I do want to encourage you to maybe take a look at your walk with God, your relationship with God, and perhaps there's a need, and the Lord is speaking to you about, you know, there needs to be some changes that you would liven things up, and that your relationship with God would be, well, full of life and abundance in the same way that He's called us to have that abundant life or promise to us that abundant life.

Here in these last few verses of Luke chapter 5 that we just read, it begins with a question from the religious leaders. There's a feast going on and the religious leaders are kind of upset about Jesus, that they're being at this feast where there's lots of sinners and the interaction there. And so they're not happy about that. But it brings them to the point where they ask the question in verse 33,

why do the disciples of John fast and make prayers, and likewise those of the Pharisees, but yours, Jesus, your disciples eat and drink. Our disciples fast, but why do your disciples feast? And they're upset over this situation. And Jesus is explaining to them a little bit that

Well, this is a new work. There's a new thing happening and you're trying to compare it to the old. The disciples of the Pharisees behave this way. Why don't your disciples behave like the disciples of the Pharisees, Jesus? And Jesus is saying, well, there's a new work that's happening. Why don't your disciples behave like the disciples of John the Baptist? Why don't

I mean, even though the Pharisees didn't agree with John the Baptist, they could at least accept and admire that, well, at least his disciples fast like we fast. And they liked that aspect of the disciples of John the Baptist. And Jesus explains to them in verse 34 and 35, look, this is something new. He says, the friends of the bridegroom don't fast while the bridegroom is with them. There will come a time when they fast, but now is not that time.

And Jesus will explain this in three illustrations in the following verses. He will demonstrate this a little bit more. As they ask the question, why don't you do what we have always done? Jesus says, well, think about a patch on a garment. In verse 36, he says, no one puts a piece from a new garment on an old one.

Otherwise, the new makes a tear, and also the piece that was taken out of the new does not match the old. So when you're patching an old garment, Jesus says, you don't take a new patch, a new piece of material, an unused piece of material, in other words, and put it on that old material, on that old garment. The reason why is, well,

whenever that material, that new material begins to shrink as material does, it will destroy the garment. It will make that little tear that you're patching even worse because now this new patch that was attached shrinks and changes and it messes up the old garment even further. And Jesus is using that as an illustration to say, look, when there is something new, you don't try to force it onto something old.

You don't try to take the new work that God is doing and try to force it into the old system. When the bridegroom is here, it's different. There's a new work that's happening, just like a new patch on an old garment. You don't try to force that to make it work. Well, then he gives the illustration of wineskins in verse 37 and 38. And he says, you don't put new wine into old wineskins.

Now, the reason why is because, well, they would put the new wine into a wineskin, and it's actually not wine when they put it into the wineskin. It's just grape juice at that point, but they would put it into the wineskin, and it was there in the wineskin that it would go through the process of fermentation.

And so as it would ferment, well, there's gases being released and there's a change happening within. And so the wineskin would need to be really flexible to be able to allow for the changing conditions within. Now, an old wineskin was not very flexible. And so it was useful for storing wine that had already fermented, but

But it was not useful for putting in new wine as it went through the fermentation process. Because as it went through the process, because it was more rigid and because it was brittle, the changes that were happening during fermentation, they would cause the wineskin to burst. And Jesus says, then the end result is you lose the wine and the wineskin is ruined as well.

This was something they were really familiar with because, you know, in their culture, that was how you process the wine. That was how you made the wine. That was a common drink for them. Now, again, the point that Jesus is trying to make with this illustration is you can't force new wine into the old system because it will break. It will burst. It will not work.

When you're making new wine, you need something new to go along with it. You can't force it into the old system, the old way. Well, he gives a third illustration in verse 39, and he says, "'No one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires new, for he says, the old is better.'"

And here Jesus speaks to that idea of, well, being comfortable in your routine, being comfortable in your religion, being comfortable in, well, your current condition. And nobody who's comfortable in their current condition says, well, let me go try something new. Let me go do something different. He says, no, generally they'll say, how the old is better.

If I've got a nice cold glass of Dr. Pepper and you say, hey, try this new soda. I'd be like, no, it's good. I like my Dr. Pepper. I'll stick with that. I don't need to try something new. And that's how we often are. And yet Jesus is using these illustrations, the new patch on the old garment, the old wine and the new wineskin, or the new wine and the old wineskin,

and the old wine versus the new wine. And he's saying, look, you guys are asking this question. Why don't you do what we've always done? Because, well, you're looking at your system and the way that you practice a relationship with God or religion, and you're trying to force this new work of God into that, and that's not going to work. And this is appropriate for all of us to consider because, well, even as believers today,

Even having the new work of God that's found in Jesus Christ, you and I can very easily get caught up in our own rituals, our own practices and habits. And even though our spiritual disciplines and habits are very good and even get us through some of those dry seasons and are essential for us, and yet sometimes we can get so comfortable in them that like verse 39, that we don't look beyond God.

the things that we're comfortable in right now for the new thing that God wants to do. And so what ends up happening is we become that desert, that dry wasteland in our walk with God. And again this morning, I believe God wants to remind you and encourage you that he has a fresh work for you, for your life, for your heart, and that you have the opportunity to have a fresh walk with Jesus.

And sometimes we as Christians ask, like the religious leaders, well, why aren't you doing the things that we've always done?

Or another way that sometimes we see that as Christians is, well, we've never done it that way before. Many churches have, you know, declared that many times, you know. Well, we've never done that. We've never done outreach that way before. We've never done worship that way before. We've never done reading schedules that way before. You know, we've never done it that way before. Why don't you take your new thing and fit it into the structure that we have and that we're comfortable in? And God often says, you know, I want to throw out some of the old things

and do something brand new. Now, just a quick little side note to make sure, you know, hey, let's keep it in balance. Jesus didn't come to do away with the old covenant. He came to complete it. He didn't come to do away with the Old Testament. So it wasn't that, you know, God was throwing out everything completely, but he was doing something brand new. And it would not fit within the structure, within the system that was in their minds, in their idea of walking with God.

And so we need to be careful when we begin to resist a new work of God, wondering, well, why don't we do it the way we've always done it? I would maybe reverse that question around also and consider this this morning. Why do you do or keep on doing the things that you've always done? You and your walk with God, you have some patterns, you have some routines. And I would ask you to consider, why do you keep on doing those things?

Maybe because they're good and you're exactly where God wants you to be. But also there is the possibility that, well, it was good 15 years ago when you started it, but God's been trying to do something different since then. And sometimes he needs to pull us out of those ruts that we're in and give us some fresh life in our relationship with God. We need to have a fresh walk with Jesus.

And so there's four points that we'll look at as we work our way through Luke chapter 5 this morning. We're going to bounce around a little bit and not try to cover every verse. But starting in verses 1 through 11, or really verses 4 through 8, we have point number 1, and that is, launch out into the deep with Jesus.

Here's the first thing I would encourage us in this morning. In order to have a fresh walk with Jesus, in order to stir up new life in our relationship with God, we need to take steps of faith and to launch out into the deep with Jesus. Check out verse 4. It says,

But Simon answered and said to him,

When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus's knees saying, depart from me for I am a sinful man, oh Lord. Here in the beginning part of Luke chapter five, we find Jesus on the shore of the sea of Galilee teaching the multitude. But as the crowd was great and as they pressed against him, he got into the boat of Peter and asked Peter to push out from the land a little bit. So he kind of made a perfect amphitheater for him.

And he taught the multitude from that position there on the boat at the shore of Galilee. But when he finished teaching, he looks at Peter and he says, hey, Peter, let's go fishing. Why don't you launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch? Now here's Peter. He is a professional fisherman.

This is his profession. He is an expert at it. Although in the scriptures, that's not very clear because every time you see Peter fishing, the only time he catches anything is when Jesus works a miracle. So we assume that he was more effective other times, but just it's not recorded for us. But he's a professional fisherman. That's how he provides for himself. That's why he provides. That's how he provides for his family.

And so as Jesus tells him, let's go fishing, you know, this is not like a hobby, like some of you guys, if, you know, you say, let's go fishing, you get excited, like, yeah, let's go do it. This is, you know, hey, why don't you go back to work? And Peter's like, you know, I'm not that excited about that. And let me tell you why. In verse 5, he says, master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing. So here's Peter, professional fisherman. He's been, he's already worked a full shift.

He would fish the Sea of Galilee, not during the day, but during the night. And so as Jesus is teaching there that morning, it's the end of his shift. He's already worked a full shift. He's worked all night. He's tired. And the Lord says, let's launch out into the deep and let down the nets. And Peter says, you know, I don't think this is a good idea. Peter, in his professional opinion, is basically telling the Lord, it's not going to work.

We've already tried this. We've worked hard all night trying to catch fish. It's not going to work. That's Peter's professional opinion. It's like if I was to walk up to a mechanic who is struggling with a bolt and I say, hey, why don't you try turning it the other way? And the professional mechanic looks at me and goes like, what do you know? Like, you know, Peter could look at Jesus and say, you're a carpenter. You're not a fisherman. You don't know how to fish. And I know how to fish. It's what I do for my life. It's what I do for my livelihood. And

I've already worked hard all night trying to do this. I don't want to have to go through that again. And then if I let down the nets, you know what I have to do? I have to go wash the nets afterwards. And I know we're not going to catch anything. So I don't want to go let out the nets when I already know we're not going to catch anything. And now I have to go wash them because, well, you told me to go let down the nets. And so Peter here shares his professional opinion. It's not going to work. But he goes on to say, nevertheless, at your word,

I will let down the net. I sense here that Peter is just kind of humoring Jesus. He already knows it's not going to work. He doesn't expect to catch anything, but since you want to, okay, I'll go ahead and give you the tour. Here's what it's like to be a fisherman. I'll kind of show you the ropes a little bit. I'll humor you. I'll go out, and you can kind of see that because

Well, Jesus says, let down the nets. And Peter says, I'll let down one net. You know, I'll just give you a taste of what it's like to be a fisherman for a little bit. And that'll be good enough. Nevertheless, at your word, I will let down the net. But notice what he says, at your word, I will let down the net. And here's the key, I think, for us to consider as we look at a fresh walk with Jesus. And that is that we need to respond to the words of Jesus.

if you want to have a fresh walk with God, if you want to have a fresh walk with Jesus, well, there needs to be a response that even things that you know, this isn't going to work. Listen, Lord, this is my profession. It doesn't work turning the bolt the other way. I already know that. Okay, but since you tell me at your word that

And that response to Jesus at his word, the response to God at his word, even when we are convinced we know better, even when we don't expect there to be results, is a key element to having a fresh walk with Jesus. It's another way of describing that launch out into the deep with Jesus. Now, of course, as we consider the word of God or the words of Jesus, we have the general commands and those are definitely part of a fresh walk with Jesus.

with Jesus. So don't think that I'm trying to say, you know, just throw out the Word of God or throw out those commands and those scriptures, and we don't need those anymore. You know, there's something new. You know, Jesus, again, came to complete, not to do away with the scriptures. And so there are commands for us, commands to love our neighbor as ourself, commands to forgive, commands to stay away from sin, to flee from it. There are commands, and that is part of

a fresh walk with Jesus. In addition to those commands, to those general commands to all believers, there are those individual personal commands, those personal instructions that the Lord gives to us.

This word that Jesus gives to Peter, it wasn't a general exhortation for all fishermen. All right, all fishermen from now on, you need to fish right now and go in the morning and let down the nets after a good teaching. Like that's the rule. That's, you know, that's what everybody, Jesus was not issuing a command for all fishermen. He was issuing a command for Peter for that day, for that moment.

for that very hour. And in a similar way, there are the general commands and we need to be obeying God in those commands. But on top of that, and especially I would say, as we talk about a fresh walk with Jesus, there needs to be a real response from us to that personal instruction of Jesus. Let me ask you to consider this. When is the last time the Lord spoke to you about launching out into the deep?

What's the last thing that the Lord kind of spoke to you in similar regards to what Peter is experiencing here, that you need to launch out into the deep and to do something because simply he is telling you to. Now, we also refer to this sometimes as steps of faith, and that's absolutely accurate because, well, I like to define faith as obedience to God at his word.

That's what Peter is doing. At your word, I will let down the net. It's a step of faith. I don't expect it to work. I don't expect anything to happen. But because you told me to do it, I'm going to do what you told me to do. And sometimes we think of steps of faith that, well, it's faith because we don't know what the results will be. Or it's faith because, you know, this is absolutely crazy, the thing that we're doing. But something being crazy or not knowing the results doesn't necessarily make it faith.

It's faith when it's the Lord who has told you to do that thing that you are about to do. I would ask you to consider, what are you doing right now? And I don't necessarily mean right this second, but in your life, in this season of your life right now, what are you doing that you know it doesn't really make sense, but I'm doing it because Jesus told me to. What's happening in your life that is a direct result of

This is what the Lord has put upon my heart. This is what the Lord has set before me. This is what the Lord has called me to. Whether or not I think it's going to work, whether or not it sounds crazy, whether or not I expect amazing results, that's beside the point. The main thing is I'm launching out into the deep because Jesus has called me to. And I'm doing that because, well, he's spoken that to me. Are you engaged in some activity

some things in your life that are right now going on because it's what the Lord instructed you. Now, this didn't happen every day for Peter. The Lord didn't tell him, you know, throw your net on this side, throw your net on that side, you know, go over here, go over there. It wasn't that, you know, this was happening every day, but there should be seasons of our life. There should be times of our life. And I would suggest, generally speaking, there should be always going on things in our life where

We're doing what we're doing directly because the Lord told us to do that because the Lord spoke to us about that. And listen, this is an important element of having a fresh walk with Jesus because what you need to know is that Jesus is always going to be telling you different things and calling you out to different waters and stretching you in different ways. And if you are responding to that personal instruction of the Lord, you're

then there is going to be a freshness, a vibrancy in your relationship with God as he directs you here and sends you there and puts you over here and calls you to do this. And there's going to be that life in response to your obedience to him. Now, let me also remind you that, well, the return is directly related to the investment. That is, Jesus said in verse four, let down your nets for a catch. And Peter said, I will let down the nets.

Jesus said, net's plural. Peter says, net, singular. I'll let down one net, not all of them, but one of them. I'll let down one of them. And the results was, well, that net was beyond capacity. So much fish that it was breaking, so much fish that their boat began to sink, that when their friends came with their boat, that boat began to sink with the amount of fish. It was an abundant supply of fish.

And it's often been speculated. What would have happened if Peter had thrown out all the nets? I don't know how many he had, two or three, four or five. I don't know. But what if he had thrown them all out? Well, you know, it might have been the same amount and it would have been just as miraculous. It might have been just, you know, the same amount of fish distributed amongst all those nets. We don't know. But the point is,

Sometimes we are kind of like Peter where we have a sense that God is speaking to us and we know what he's saying, but we kind of do it a little bit half-heartedly. And it's kind of, well, we'll kind of dabble in it, but we're not seriously engaged in the things that the Lord has spoken to us. This morning, I want to encourage you to launch out into the deep with Jesus. If you don't launch out into the deep, you'll keep on following that routine and practicing that religion that

and continuing in that dry and dusty land. You need to have those personal instructions from the Lord that you respond to. And how do you get those? Well, I think we have a little hint from the example of Peter here. Here's how you hear or receive this kind of personal instruction from Jesus. Very simply, you hang out where Jesus is teaching.

That's all that Peter was doing. He was just hanging out where Jesus was teaching. And then Jesus, as he's teaching, he looks directly at Peter. He says, hey, Peter, let's go out to the deep. Let's launch out. And in a similar way, as we are engaged in times where Jesus is teaching, engaged in the word, engaged in the messages, there's going to be those points where it's like the Lord is just, you know, just directly at you, finding you in the midst of the crowd and saying, you right there. Yes, you launch out into the deep.

Sorry, Trinidad. I don't know if that finger was really for you, but maybe it was for you. I don't know. But the Lord highlights those things in our hearts and in our lives. And he says, look, that was for you. And this is my instruction to you. And the responsibility now is upon us to launch out into the deep in obedience, even when we think it's not going to work, even when we think it won't make a difference. In my professional opinion, Lord, you know, I already know this isn't going to work. But at your word, I will let down the net. I will do what you've called me to do.

Keep a fresh walk with Jesus by responding to those personal instructions from the Lord. Well, moving on to verse 12 through 14, here we have point number two, and that is ask Jesus for miracles. To keep a fresh walk with Jesus, I would suggest we need to follow the example of the leper in this account and ask Jesus to work miraculously in our lives.

In verse 12, it says, And it happened when he was in a certain city that behold, the man who was full of leprosy saw Jesus. And he fell on his face and implored him saying, Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean. Then he put out his hand and touched him saying, I am willing, be cleansed. Immediately the leprosy left him.

And he charged him to tell no one, but go and show yourself to the priest and make an offering for your cleansing as a testimony to them, just as Moses commanded. Here we have the account of this leper who came to Jesus and asked to be healed. And Jesus healed him. He asked for a miracle and he received a miracle. You know, as we consider this passage, I would suggest that sometimes those of us who are

older Christians, and I don't mean that necessarily in our age, but we've been walking with God for some time. Some of us who've been around for a while, we can be the last ones to ask for miracles. Sometimes we're the last ones to really look to God and ask for a supernatural, impossible work in our lives or in the lives of the people around us.

And that can happen for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it's because, well, we've asked for miracles before and they didn't happen and we're kind of soured, you know, on the whole idea. And so we don't ask. And sometimes we

Well, we realize, you know, sometimes God does miracles, but most of the time he doesn't. And so that's just part of life. And so, well, you're just going to have to suffer with that sickness. You're just going to have to suffer in that situation. And we can kind of have the attitude, although we know better than to like say it or express it, and maybe not even recognize it ourselves, but sometimes we have the attitude of like, why bother asking?

And just to be disappointed, you know, that, well, maybe God could do a miracle, but man, I've been disappointed so many times. So why bother asking? But can I just remind you this morning, God does miracles. He works supernaturally. He is able to do incredible things beyond what you could ever ask or think. And I would suggest that, well, sometimes we miss out on the miraculous works of God simply because,

We don't ask God to work miraculously. Here in this account in verse 12, we see this man who was full of leprosy. So he has this medical condition, this disease for which there is no cure. And it is extremely progressed. It is, well, he's described as being full of leprosy. So he doesn't have just a little leprous spot. It's not just affecting one part of his body, but his whole being is affected by

by this disease, which is highly contagious. And so those who had leprosy in those days, it was, well, it was completely destructive to not just their bodies, but their social life. They would be outcasts of society, permanently separated from everyone because, well, nobody wanted to risk catching the leprosy that they had.

And so they had rules in effect and there would be camps of lepers and they would have to stay outcast. They would have to stay away. And if they came within a certain distance of people, they would have to announce unclean, unclean to just warn the people, hey, I'm a leper, stay away. And so they were in this condition of being completely helpless, completely hopeless. There was no cure. There was no treating this condition.

And they would have to be all alone while they underwent all of the things that would go along with the disease. And this guy, he kind of breaks the rules a little bit and he comes near to Jesus. And it tells us in verse 12 that he fell on his face and implored him. As he falls on his face, as he implores Jesus, it means to request with begging. He's asking Jesus fervently, passionately for a healing. Again, sometimes...

We as older believers are the last ones to behave this way because, well, for a variety of reasons. But we've asked before. We've been disappointed before. And sometimes we can get very callous. And we don't even bother asking. But here's this guy, this leper, suffering physically, emotionally. And he comes to Jesus and he begs him. But it's interesting the way that he begs him. In verse 12 it says...

It records the word of the leper, Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean. Here, as we look at the words of the leper, we see this guy had great faith and good theology. He understood the power of Jesus. He understood this is not a question of the capabilities of Jesus. It's not a question of whether or not Jesus can heal a leper. The only question is, are you willing? Are

Willingness is the crucial factor, and that is a reality. Jesus can do anything. God can do anything. But the will of God is crucial to what God actually does, what fits in with, what aligns with the will of God. And here the leper, although he's hurting, although he is, you know, in this condition, he has good theology. He has great faith. He asked to be healed, but

But it's not a demand. Jesus, you must heal me. It's not a bargain. If you heal me, I will do this. You know, it's not a negotiation or he's saying, look, I want to be healed. Would you please heal me? I know that you can. The only question is, are you willing? Great faith, great boldness. This leper has as he approaches Jesus with this request. In verse 13, it tells us that Jesus puts out his hand and touches him.

And says, I am willing, be cleansed. And immediately the leprosy left him. And so he comes to Jesus and says, I know you can heal. My question is, will you? Is it part of the will of God? Will you heal me? It's interesting because, well, it shows us the balance of the sovereignty of God as well as, well, the freedom of humanity. And that is, Jesus says, I am willing. It is part of God's will for you to be healed.

But what's interesting about this passage is that the implication here, the indication is this man would not have received a healing if he had not asked for it. Jesus was willing, but the healing came in response to the request, even though it was part of God's will for him. This is something for us to consider that, you know, the reality is we can miss out on

on some things that God would have for us, some things that God would do for us. Maybe because we're just too lazy, just too callous, just too distracted to ask God to work. In Luke chapter 4, just one chapter earlier, we see Jesus go to the home of Peter. And as he's at Peter's house...

It tells us that his mother-in-law, Peter's mother-in-law was sick with a high fever. And it says in Luke chapter 4 verse 38, they made request of him concerning her. So here's Jesus at the house. Here's the sick mother-in-law. They're already there. He's already there. She's already there. She's sick. He's there. She gets healed. But when did she get healed? She gets healed when they ask Jesus to heal her.

Again, the point is, we see this all throughout the ministry of Jesus, that there are those who don't receive healing because, well, it specifically says they just didn't have the faith. Jesus didn't work very many miracles there because of the lack of faith. That there are those who the potential is there. It's even the will of God, but God also calls us to engage with him, to receive the fullness of what he has for us.

And you know, for you to have a fresh walk with Jesus, you're going to have to be engaged and involved and asking God to work in your life. It's not going to happen just automatically for you. You just sit there and then just God will just, boom, pour out everything upon you. No, actually there needs to be in your life requests for the miraculous, requests for God to work, requests for God to do miracles, requests. You need to ask God.

Now, with good theology, and so, you know, not like approaching God with the demand, I'm telling you, God, what I want, and you must give it to me, or else, you know, I'm not going to follow you unless, no, no. But just having passion, having fervency, but also having a submission. Lord, if you're willing, I'm letting you know, this is my request. Are you willing? Is it part of your plan? If it's not part of your will for me, I don't want it. But Lord, if you're willing, I'm letting you know,

Would you make me clean? Would you set me free? Would you cleanse me? Would you heal this person? Would you pay this bill? Would you work in this area? Would you move this mountain? That we can ask God for miracles and have great boldness like this leper, but again, not in a sense of demanding, but just presenting our requests. Be anxious for nothing, right? But present your request to God with thanksgiving.

Make your requests known. James tells us in James chapter four, verse two, he says, you lust and do not have. You're craving, you're desiring, and you still don't have what you want. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and you war. But notice what he says, yet you do not have because you do not ask. Here James says clearly, some of the things that you want and desire might even be part of God's plan for you, but you don't have them because you haven't asked God for them.

And he goes on in verse 3. He says, you ask and do not receive. So sometimes you do ask, but you don't receive. Why is that? He says, because you ask amiss that you may spend it on your pleasures. So sometimes you do ask God for miracles and you don't receive those miracles. James suggests one of the reasons is, well, you might just be completely in the wrong motivation-wise. That you're just wanting to gratify yourself and your flesh and you just want to spend it on your pleasures.

And so sometimes you ask and do not receive for that reason. But there's also times where you don't have because you don't ask. I would ask you to consider verse 14 here in Luke chapter 5. It says, Here is the leper's cleanse. Jesus says, all right, now go show yourself to the priest.

Now, this was part of the instruction given in Leviticus chapter 14 for what a leper is to do to be, well, restored back into the community after they've been healed. And it's always a cool thing to consider because, well, leprosy had no cure. But so God knew that he would work miracles. And so he provided a way back for the outcasts, for the completely lost and hopeless. He provided a way back for them in Leviticus chapter 14.

But the other aspect that's cool to consider about this, in verse 14, Jesus says, go show yourself to the priest. It's part of the process, and now you can be reintroduced into the community. But he says also, as a testimony to them, as a testimony to the priest. Imagine being the priest. This guy comes up to you. I used to be a leper. I was just healed.

There's a process for restoration. And the priest goes, yeah, I remember reading that. Where is that? I've never had to use that before. Search it out. Oh, Leviticus 14. Okay, here's the process. Here's the offering that we need to offer. Here's the steps we need to go through. All right, cool. You could be restored and brought back into society. And Jesus says, look, go do that. Not just because that's the word of God and that's what's in there, but

But what's really going to happen is you're going to be a testimony to the priest. As you stand before the priest and the priest says, you know, I've never, how did this happen? I've never had to use this passage before. I've never had to follow these instructions before. And he says, hey, Jesus, I asked him, he touched me and the leprosy left. That this miracle that he asked for was not just for his own sake, although he's blessed by it, of course.

but that this is part of the bigger work of Jesus revealing himself to the priest and speaking and demonstrating that he is the son of God. And so as James says, you don't have, even when you ask, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. That's something for us to consider. And that is that as we ask God for miracles, as we ask Jesus to work miraculously in our lives, well, we should also understand it

It's not meant to be just for our pleasures, but it also should be as a testimony. That as we ask Jesus for miracles, as we ask for him to work supernaturally, that there's a willingness. We don't have to figure out how is that going to be a testimony necessarily, but just that there's the willingness. Lord, I will be a testimony and I will stand before the doctor and say,

The Lord touched me and he healed me. I'll stand before the priest and say, I encountered this guy named Jesus and I asked for healing and he laid his hands on me. I'll stand before my boss and say, I asked Jesus and here's what he did. That we would ask and let it be, well, for the glory of God as he works miracles in our lives. Listen, God still does miracles. And if you want to have a fresh walk with Jesus,

You need to be asking for them. It's easy to get caught up in the idea that, well, I'm never going to be freed from this disease and this side of eternity. That actually may be true, but maybe it's in the will of God for you to be healed. You might think, I'm never going to be freed from these emotions. I'm trapped. I'm stuck in these and there's no release and I'm just going to have to live this way the rest of my life. But you know, maybe it's in the will of God for him to touch your mind and to release you from those emotions.

You could easily sit there and think, I'll never be cleansed from that evil. I'll never, and just think that we're stuck, that we're trapped, that it's just, that's how it is. And again, sometimes us older Christians, we're the last ones to really look to God to work miraculously and set people free in the way that God promises that he would. Now, how do you know if it's in the will of God for that miracle to take place? How do you know? How can you find out?

Here's a very, very simple technique. You ask. That's all you got to do. Are you willing, Lord? I'm asking. You tell us to ask. You tell us to present our requests. I know you can do it. It's not a question of your capacity. Is it part of your will? Lord, if so, I want it. Please do it. If it's not part of your will, I don't want it. Please don't do it. It doesn't have to be. We work ourselves up, I think, a little bit more than is necessary. We just need to ask.

And God may or may not do it according to his will because he knows what's best for us. But sometimes we don't even bother asking. And so we can't expect to receive. Ask Jesus for miracles. And maybe there's some things that you've kind of given up on a long time ago. You stopped asking because you're just tired of asking. Maybe the Lord wants you to ask again. He still works miracles. Give him an opportunity to do that in your life. Moving on to point number three, found in verses 17-18.

through 20. Here, point number three is bring people to Jesus. If you want to continue to have a fresh, a vibrant walk with God relationship with Jesus, here's an important aspect. Be bringing people to connect with him. Verse 17. Now it happened on a certain day as he was teaching that there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem, and the power of the Lord was present to heal them. Then behold, men brought

And the verses that follow, you'll also see Jesus heal that paralyzed man, and he'll take up his bed and walk.

But here in this account, we see these friends of the man, which are kind of the main characters in this account. And that is this man who was paralyzed had these four friends that cared for him a lot. They cared for him so much that, well, they heard about Jesus. They knew Jesus was in town. And so they worked together to carry this man on his bed, on his couch, on his mat, whatever that looked like.

The four of them carried this man to where Jesus was. But when they got there, they found the house so full, so packed, they weren't able to get in the front door. So they checked the windows and there was no room for them to sneak in through the windows. They checked the back door and that was packed full. There was no way for them to get in. So they gave up and went home and said, I'm sorry, dude, you're not going to be healed. Now, what did they do?

they climbed up onto the roof. And you can see this. I mean, just playing it out in your head. This is pretty dramatic, right? They went to great lengths. They began to destroy private property to remove the roof. They would have these beams with these reeds across and then the mud that would kind of keep it stuck all together. And so they're beginning to dig through the mud. They're removing the reeds.

I'm picturing the crowd below. It's like a packed house. All of a sudden, things are falling from the ceiling. They're looking up, and suddenly there's a hold. Maybe there's a face kind of peering in. Almost there. Now, here's Jesus teaching. He's seeing all this mud dropping from the ceiling. We have a little bit of experience with this. Those of you who have been around for a while, remember when the ceiling used to just fall continually? We got used to it. It would fall. We'd be like, we didn't even bother looking up. We know what it is.

But here he's teaching the mud's falling. You know, things are debris. It's clear something is happening. And Jesus doesn't stop and say, oh, I see your face. What do you guys need? I have a paralyzed guy up here. Oh, let me come up there. And Jesus, you know, goes outside, comes up the roof and heals the guy. That doesn't happen. He lets them go through the whole process of opening a hole big enough that

for them to let down this man before. And so while Jesus is teaching, he just keeps on going, just keeps on teaching until this guy just drops down in front of him. And then now he addresses the situation. In other words, these four friends were actively involved and determined and persistent in bringing this man to Jesus. They use some creative techniques and they brought him through the roof. Jesus calls us as his disciples disciples.

to a similar task, to be making disciples. And that could take a variety of forms. And so there's no, you know, don't just think of it as you have to be great glory, but you know, there should be effort. There should be work. There should be part of your life that is devoted to and dedicated to being a friend who brings someone to be connected to Jesus.

And that can be through a prayer ministry. It can be through a face-to-face sharing ministry. It can be involved in children's ministry. And you're approaching it with the understanding, my job is to bring this child to connect to Jesus. It's not just...

Well, there was an empty block in the schedule and somebody had to do something. And so, you know, well, I brought some cookies and crackers and, you know, I'm just here to make sure that the kids don't get out of line. And if they do, you know, I'll be happy to spank them for you. You know, it's not just, you know, that we just got to fill a spot, but that there should be an aspect of your life that is about bringing people to Jesus, about helping people see Jesus, about helping people connect with

to him. And understanding that the front door is rarely open. I mean, I would describe the front door as a person saying, hey, I'm paralyzed from my sin and I need Jesus. Can you lead me in a prayer of repentance? That happens, but usually that front door is closed. And sometimes you have to do a bit of work and maybe dig away some ceilings and be creative to give people that opportunity to be face-to-face with Jesus. I was thinking about our Harvest Carnival.

We call it light the night these days. But 20 years ago or more when we started that, that kind of event was kind of unheard of. To do something on Halloween, it was pretty rare. It was unexpected. Now these days, almost every church does some kind of Halloween event.

Now, I'm not trying to say that we shouldn't do it because every church does it, but I would say, hey, we need to stop and consider, is it still effective at bringing people to Jesus? And that's worth considering as we head towards October this year. But 20 years ago, it was a creative way to have encounters with people, to have the opportunity to bring them to Jesus. And in a similar way, we need to have some...

some creative aspects to our walk with the Lord that we're engaged in the work of bringing people to him. And it's not necessarily the way that we've always done it or the way it's always been done or that, but just that we're working. We're good friends who just want to see people connected to Jesus. And

Not that we force people, you know, to hear or listen. Please don't take it too far. But just understand that there needs to be an aspect of our life where we're working to help people be connected to the Lord. Looking for ways and opportunities to connect people to Jesus. Well, one last point. We'll finish it up quick. Verse 27 and 28. Here we see point number four. And that is follow Jesus exclusively. Verse 27.

After these things, he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the tax office. And he said to him, follow me. So he left all, rose up and followed him. This records for us the encounter that Matthew, also known as Levi, has with the Lord. Matthew's a tax collector. As such, he was probably pretty wealthy, pretty well off because what tax collectors generally were.

Jesus sees him there at the table, at the tax office. And he says, hey, Matthew. Hey, Levi. Why don't you follow me? And verse 28, I think, is really important for us to understand. It says, he left all, rose up, and followed him. Jesus said, follow me. And so Matthew did. But notice the order that Luke records for us here. And I would suggest this is not just, you know, random order. This is the word of God. It's written in this way specifically for us.

for us to know and understand some important things about our hearts. What did Matthew do when Jesus said, follow me? Well, first he left all. Second, he rose up. And third, he followed Jesus. If Richard says, hey, Jerry, follow me. And so first I leave the pulpit and then I step away and then I follow Richard. You understand there's something a little bit weird about this order.

How does Matthew leave everything before he even stands up? How can you leave everything without even standing up? How does he walk away from this table before he actually gets out of the chair? Well, of course, we understand there's more going on than just the physical departure from that location that he is deciding, committing. He is making a decision to turn away from this life. And he stands up and he follows Jesus.

Listen, the only way for you to have a fresh walk with Jesus is for you to follow the example of Matthew. For you to make the decision to leave everything, to put Jesus first, and then you get up and you begin to follow him. Many times in our lives, we have areas of our lives that we leave Jesus out of, as opposed to the other way of leaving everything to follow Jesus. Do you have anything that you have to kind of like say, Jesus, would you just stay right here for a little bit?

I'm going to go over there and don't worry about what I'm doing over there, but I'm going to be over there for a little bit and I'll come back, but just stay right there. I'll be right back. Is there areas of your life that Jesus would not be happy and comfortable and enjoy just being with you in the midst of that? Listen, the only way for you to have a fresh walk with Jesus is for you to follow Jesus exclusively. And that doesn't necessarily mean we all quit our jobs like Matthew was called to do, but it does mean that

That Jesus would be happy and comfortable with us wherever we are, whatever we're doing. We need to follow Jesus exclusively. He needs to have that level of priority. And it starts with that first decision of leaving all. And sometimes, well, maybe you were more exclusive in your earlier years. You were really exclusive right at the beginning. And, you know, you walked with the Lord, your passion for the Lord. And later and later and later, you know, they're just kind of crept in these things where...

Jesus is off to the side over here for this occasion, for this event, for these things and secondary. And it might be part of the reason why you're in that dry and dusty land. But Jesus needs to be your first passion, your first priority. And maybe you need to come back to the place like Levi where you leave everything and then get up and start to follow Jesus again, to give him that place of exclusivity in your life, that he would be with you in all things and

and happy and comfortable and enjoy being with you in every aspect of your life, in every aspect of every conversation, of every relationship, of every activity. Follow Jesus exclusively. This all began looking at the question of the religious leaders. Why don't you do what we've always done? And that can be a question that we ask. But I would also ask the question, why do you keep on doing what you've always done? Maybe it's time to shake things up.

to freshen up your walk with Jesus by launching out into the deep with those things that he is speaking to you about. Even if you already know it's not going to work, even if you expect no results, launch out into the deep with Jesus and follow the instruction, follow those prompts that he puts on your heart while you ask him for miracles. Again, maybe you don't even expect to get the miracle, but ask him. He says, present your requests.

before him. Ask God for healing. Ask God for deliverance. Ask God to work, to provide. Ask God to do great things, especially while you bring people to Jesus and give them an opportunity to encounter him and know him and make sure that as you go forward, you follow Jesus exclusively. As you walk in these things, as you put these things to work, you will have a fresh walk with the Lord. He's going to be at work

vibrant. He's going to be changing things. He's going to be calling you out. He's going to be stretching you in different ways. All of things that are exciting and also difficult at the same time, but it's going to be fresh. There's going to be life as you engage with the Lord in these ways. Let's pray. God, I pray for each one of us that you would help us. Lord, for any who are caught up in the dry and desert wasteland, Lord, that we all know what that's like. And Lord, I would say that we've all been there from time to time in different seasons of our life that we've

that dryness, Lord, that just the rut and the ritual, Lord, and even though we haven't given up on you, we haven't decided to not believe in you, but Lord, there's just not the life. There's not the fresh water. There's not the spirit at work. There's not the newness or the passion that there once was. God, I pray that you would stir us up and help us, Lord, to recognize that

Lord, we saw at the beginning, you said the one who's drinking the old wine doesn't desire the new wine. And Lord, I pray if that's us, Lord, we're kind of stuck in the rut and in that dry and desert land, but we don't even realize that it really is an issue. We're not even concerned about it or desiring a new work from you. I pray, God, that you would open our eyes to our real condition. Lord, that we would know where we stand in our relationship with you. Help us, Lord, to see clearly as you see us and as you know where our hearts are.

I pray, God, that you would speak to us. Call us out into the deep. Give us direction on how we can go forward with you. Give us boldness to ask you to work miracles in our lives and in the lives of the people around us. Lord, give us boldness and strength to invite people to know you, to hear from you, to walk with you, to receive from you. And I pray, Lord, that you would help us to keep that passion and that focus on you, that you would be our exclusive source

Lord and Savior, love and passion, that we would follow you first and foremost above all else. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. 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.