Tabor Baptist Church

Introduction

• Looking at Luke 5:1-11
• Quick recap of Portugal visit:
• Gift of a cup
• Gift of a South American Breakfast
• Getting to know there ways by staying with them
• Do you know Christ?
• Do you know Him personally?
• Do you know Him as Lord, Saviour and friend?
• We are going to consider Simon Peter
• It is a process
• Different recorded events where Peter met Christ
• Christ was drawing Peter to Himself
• God often draws people
• Jesus' meetings with Peter:
• Reminder of John 1
• We meet Andrew and his brother Simon Peter
• Andrew had met Jesus and realised He was the Messiah
• Andrew introduces Peter to Jesus
• In their first meeting, Jesus changes Peter's name
• Jesus had called Peter
• He was to be Cephas - a rock and servant in the Church
• Luke 4:38
• Jesus had been preaching
• Jesus comes to Peter's home
• Jesus heals Peter's mother-in-law
• This must have had a profound effect on Peter
• Luke 5
• An awesome and significant event
• Such a crowd to hear His preaching that He must get into a boat
• He chooses Simon Peter's boat
• He preaches to the masses
• After preaching He brings a personal word to Peter - 'let down your nets'
• Jesus performs an awesome miracle 
• Another boat is called and both are almost sinking
• Simon Peter falls at Jesus' knees
• Perhaps still in the boat
• Peter sees Jesus in a way he has never seen before
• Jesus replies that from now on he would catch men
• Peter and the others forsake their profession and follow Jesus from this point on
• Peter knows he is a sinner and knows something of what Christ is
• He becomes a true disciple of Jesus Christ
• God still has a work to bring him to a fuller understanding
• What about us?
• Do we come to church but have never know and trusted Jesus?
• Have we experienced significant events on the road to Christ?
• Have we yielded ourselves entirely to Christ?

Public preaching and ministry (v1-3)

• He preached in the open air and taught in the synagogues (4:31,44)
• Do we attend the place where Christ is preached?
• There is a blessing for those who come to Christ
• People can preach anywhere - examples
• Christ is the prince of preachers
• Ecc 11:5 - we cannot see but God knows what He is doing or what is happening in people's hearts
• Jesus knows that His ministry is not to perform miracles per se, but to preach - 4:43

Private ministry (v4)

• Came after the public ministry
• Jesus speaks to Peter
• He will show His power
• We need to hear Christ speaking into our personal lives
• We need direction from Him
• We need to ask Jesus to teach us
• Not mystical experiences
• Prayer for guidance as we read the word

Encountering Christ's Power (v5-9)

• Peter as a fisherman knew when was the best time to fish
• Peter obeys
• Christ shows His omniscience
• Did He know this by His divine attributes?
• Did He know as the perfect man?
• He did it as the God Man
• Peter confesses Christ as Lord
• He sees something of His deity
• Christ shows His omnipotence
• Christ directed the fish into the nets
• Peter's reaction was to fall at Jesus knee's?
• Have we understood who Christ is?
• Eternal God taking on human form
• Performing miracle after miracle after miracle
• Have we understood who we are?
• Our sin?
• How we fall far short of His glory?
• That sin corrupts?
• That we offend an almighty God?
• Have we understood that Christ is our mediator with God?

Enlisting into Christ's Service

• Personal example
• We bring the gospel that Christ will catch men
• We let down the gospel net and many souls will be saved
• Consider Pentecost - 3'000, 5'000, 10'000 saved
• Miracles are not just for the benefit of the person ...
• ... but to point people to Christ
• Whatever good God has done to you - it is so that you would worship Him
• A repeated miracle
• For a specific reason
• The restoration of Peter
• The miracle in itself was nothing compared to His sacrifice on the cross
• Simon Peter knew this truth
• He was met by the risen Lord Jesus
• All Peter could do was preach of Jesus Christ
• After this event he never looked back

Concluding Remarks

• May it be that we enter into Christ if we cast ourselves onto Jesus
• Luke 9:23-25
• May it be that we give up our life to save it
• May it be that we have Christ