“OUR INCREDIBLE, YET APPROACHABLE SAVIOR: HELP WHEN ALL SEEMS HOPELESS”
LUKE 5:1-11
INTRO: Someone has said, “failure is not an option.” I surely understand the
spirit and meaning of those words, but let’s be honest; failure is a part
of our human existence. All of us suffer failures, losses, and defeats
in our lives. But it is how we deal with failure that will determine our
level of motivation, joy and happiness in life. “The way we deal with
failure can determine how we sustain motivation.” -- Wayne Pohl,
Leadership, Vol. 1, no. 3.
The Apostle Paul failed; Peter failed; every one of the twelve apostles
failed. David, Israel's greatest king, "a man after God's own heart,"
failed. Moses, giant among the Israelites, giver of the law, deliverer of
his people, failed. Jacob, father of Israel, failed; Isaac, son of promise,
failed. Abraham, progenitor of Israel, father of the faithful, prototype
of those who are righteous through faith, failed. Even our first
parents, in their human perfection, failed. Who has not failed? It is
not failing that is the problem; it is what one does after he has failed.
To take failure as final is to be a failure. To see in failure the school of
the Spirit is to let failure contribute to one's growth in Christ. Many
times in our spiritual lives we face what we see as hopeless
situations. As we face these times, many times we become
discouraged. We want to quit, throw in the towel and give up. But I
am SO GLAD today that we have a Savior who sees no situation as
hopeless. He has the answers to our questions and the solutions to
our problems!
The Lord Jesus Christ not only can touch and help us when all
seems hopeless but no matter what the instance or what the
circumstance, He offers us hope for our discouragement. In Luke 5:
1-11 we see an incident of failure by a group of hopeless fishermen.
These fishermen had been fishing all night without any success.
Luke 5:5a tells us, “And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we
have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing…”. They had quit,
given up, and thrown in the towel. V2b tells us they “were washing
their nets.” They saw any further attempts at the present time vain.
But Christ can turn our failures into successes and our hopelessness
into hope. Let us see that just as Jesus helped these hopeless
fishermen He can help us when all seems hopeless. Let us see that…
(1) OUR LORD SEES OUR HOPELESSNESS
LUKE 5:1-2—“And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed
upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the
lake of Gennesaret, And saw two ships standing by
the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them,
and were washing their nets.”
- THEY WERE DISCOURAGED. As our Lord sees Peter, James, and John and the others with them, He sees some tired men. They had been out all night and they had nothing to show for it. “They had cast the net several times in the course of the night, and drew it to shore without success, and were now greatly disheartened.” (Adam Clarke’s Commentary On The Bible). No one wants to be a failure. And many times when we fail it leads us to discouragement. Someone has said, “Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker.” – Unknown. But so many times, we are like these fishermen sitting on the shore, wondering to ourselves what we “could have done” or “should have done.” We find ourselves disappointed, discouraged, and hopeless. All of us have been there!
ILLUS: Sometimes we are overwhelmed with failures because we are so
aware of our own, but we fail to notice those of others. The
athlete is not celebrated for the games he has lost; the
photographer throws away his poor pictures; the potter
reshapes his marred jars; and the painter displays only his best
portraits. Perhaps then, God has different measurements for
failure and success than we do. Paul the Apostle was not
acclaimed during his lifetime. He was rejected by Jews and held
in suspicion by Gentiles. He was stoned, beaten, imprisoned,
mocked by some, and ignored by others. He spent his life
starting little churches that were soon overtaken with problems
so big that the members needed revisiting and letters written to
them to straighten out their difficulties. Paul taught the truth
only to discover that some who received it on one day were
turning the next day to some false doctrine. No glory crowned
his life, nor was any success evident when, during his last
days, his friends deserted him as he was held prisoner. In the
end, he was shamefully executed. Yet, looking back on the
ministry of Paul, we see that he was indeed a successful failure.
One-half of the books of the New Testament are from his pen,
and he is now hailed as the greatest Christian missionary of all
time!
B. THEY WERE DEFEATED. The lake had gotten the best of them. This
was their occupation and how they made their living. Yet on this night
they were staring defeat right in the face! Someone has said, “You are
not finished when you are defeated. You are finished when you give
up.-Unknown. The question for each of us today is: “How will we
handle defeat when it comes?” We can either withdraw and feel
hopeless or we can reach out for help! We are so good at doing things
our own way. Then, when they do not work out, we turn to God and
say, "Help! Now what do I do?" We are so foolish, for if we had read His
instructions in the first place, we wouldn't have had the problem in the
second place. "Thy Word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin
against thee." That's a powerful thought!
ILLUS: An elderly lady was once asked by a young man who had
grown weary in the fight, whether he ought to give up the
struggle. "I am beaten every time," he said dolefully. "I feel I
must give up." "Did you ever notice," she replied, smiling into
the troubled face before her, "that when the Lord told the
discouraged fishermen to cast their nets again, it was right in
the same old spot where they had been fishing all night and
had caught nothing?"
Even though this seemed to be a hopeless situation, The Lord saw they were discouraged and defeated and He reached out to them to encourage and help these disheartened fishermen. Jesus offers help to hopeless people because He loves us and also because…
(2) THE LORD KNOWS HOW TO HELP US
LUKE 5:4-7—“Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon,
Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a
draught. And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we
have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing:
nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. And when
they had this done, they enclosed a great multitude of
fishes: and their net broke. And they beckoned unto their
partners, which were in the other ship, that they should
come and help them. And they came, and filled both the
ships, so that they began to sink.”
A. THE LORD SEES OUR SITUATION. Luke 5:1-2 tells us, “And it came
to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he
stood by the lake of Gennesaret, And saw two ships standing by the
lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their
nets.” Notice the words, “he stood by the lake of Gennesaret, and
saw…”. I am glad today that the Lord sees us wherever we are!
Proverbs 15:3 says, “The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding
the evil and the good.” Because the Lord sees our situation also…
B. THE LORD SYMPATHIZES WITH OUR SITUATION. God, who sees us
in our worst moments, does not measure us by them. -- Elisa Morgan,
founder of MOPS International, Marriage Partnership, Vol. 13, no. 1.
Notice how the Lord deals with these fishermen. He doesn’t look down
on them. He doesn’t pass judgment on their actions. He doesn’t
lecture them on what they did wrong or how they had sinned. He
simply looks at them with love and desires to help them in their
hopelessness. Our Lord gets into their boat and tells them where to
catch fish. Vv. 3-4 tell us, “And he entered into one of the ships, which
was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the
land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship. Now when
he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and
let down your nets for a draught.” The Lord listens to their complaints
and their efforts and still shows them where to catch fish (v5).
Although they were without hope, Jesus sympathized with them. I am
happy today because Jesus cares! 1 Peter 5:7 tells us “Casting all
your care upon him; for he careth for you.” We have a sympathizing
Savior! Whenever we find ourselves in a seemingly hopeless situation,
when we have become discouraged, we need only to remember Jesus is
with us and He CARES! He is literally “in the boat” with us directing us
where to go next. The Lord offers help when all seems hopeless
because He is there with us always. He has promised, “I will never
leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my
helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.” He’s “in our boat”
and He SEES OUR SITUATION and SYMPATHIZES WITH OUR
SITUATION and also…
C. THE LORD HAS THE SOLUTION FOR OUR SITUATION. The Lord
tells Peter, “Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a
draught.” (v4b). The Lord commands Peter, “Go out into deep water
and drop your nets again.” Peter and his fellow fishermen had just
finished a long night of fishing. A night where they had caught
nothing. They were washing their nets. They were tired, discouraged,
and wanted to go home. Ever been there? You have labored diligently
and yet you see no results for your efforts. Matthew Henry wrote:
“Though they had taken nothing, yet Christ told them to let down their
nets again. We must not abruptly quit our callings because we have
not the success in them we desire. We are likely to speed well, when
we follow the guidance of Christ's word” (Matthew Henry’s Concise
Commentary).
I want you to notice the necessary element for our seemingly
hopeless situation: OBEDIENCE. Someone has said, “Joy is the
byproduct of obedience.—Traditional Not always, but so many times,
our failures are a result of disobedience. We need to respond to our
Lord in simple obedience. The Lord can help because He knows how
to help. Jesus helped Peter and He can and will help us no matter
how hopeless our situation seems!
CLOSING: The Lord helps us in HIS WAY, HIS TIME, and HIS WIDSOM. We
must simply obey Christ. Do what He says for us to do. Many
times, our failures are more about us than our situation. We so
oft must respond like Peter did after this great miracle: “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 was astonished, and all
that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had
taken.” (Luke 5:8-9). Regardless of the situation, whether internal
or external, the Lord will respond in love! Friend, have you failed?
THE LORD SEES OUR SITUATION and THE LORD KNOWS HOW
TO HELP US. No matter the degree of our failure. NO matter how
discouraged we may find ourselves, the Lord will help! The Lord
can see us through our failures and fit us for great service in the
future (vv. 10-11). Do you need the Lord’s help today? Warren
Wiersbe wrote: “Do you need help today? Lift up your hands to the
Lord in supplication and in expectation, and soon you will lift up
your hands in jubilation and celebration…” (The Timothy Report,
Swan Lake Communications, September 15,
2003)