New Life

Luke 5:1-11
    In our studies on Friday mornings we have been talking about evangelism.  What does the word mean?  It means good news.  ...the word of an angel to those who are walking in their own way and in darkness.  Here is what G. Campbell Morgan said " What shall I say to the men to whom I preach the evangel?  One thing only, Submit to the Lord Christ.  And if a man do what then?  Then the Lord Christ by the Holy Spirit will make over to him the virtue of His living, will pour into him the victory of the indwelling Spirit.  These three things are the necessary consequence of the submission of life to His Lordship.  Men will not be saved by understanding the atonement.  Men will not be saved by explaining the mystery of resurrection.  Men will not be saved by explanation of the mystery of how the Spirit comes.  They will be saved by yielding to the Lord Christ.  In the moment of yielding, He makes over to them all the virtues and values."   Evangelism.
     This is what happened to Peter in Luke 5.  He yielded.  He had tried all night to catch fish and he was not successful. " Master we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing..." 5:5  Night was the best time for fishing and the expert could not catch any.  Does this not describe our program sometimes?  We try ways of sharing our faith and after all a while we just give up.  It seems as though there are no results.  We toil and toil and no one responds.  Yet we are being faithful in proclaiming the Word, trying to share our faith with our friends and family and neighbors, and yet we see no results.
         I think we have to realize that with God nothing is impossible , but we try it in our own strength.  Nothing seems to bear fruit until we realize that apart from the sanctifying and regenerating power of the Holy Spirit no one will turn to Christ.  We must be born again.  This is the work of the Holy Spirit.  We can talk till we are blue in the face but apart from the Holy Spirit no one will believe.    This is the good news of the gospel.  In our own strength there will be no results.  But when God is involved and His power, things and people will change.
       " Nevertheless at thy word ( Peter said to Jesus) I will let down the net."  5:5   We should never think that God cannot work.  He works in many ways and in many places.  But we must let down our nets .  We must believe He is able to change hearts through the Holy Spirit.  Unfortunately we get discouraged and do not think that things will change.  But God alone can do things through us and in us as we trust Him to do them. But we must be faithful.  We must invite others to the services we have where the Word of God is clearly taught and proclaimed and believed.  We come together as His body here and that is the way God has appointed His work to be done in the church through the local assembly of believers.
          Let us come to this place knowing we will hear what we need for this life and the life to come from God's inerrant unchanging eternal Word and that Word will help us live now with peace and in the life to come eternally with His peace which passes all understanding.
           Peter realized his own inability to do the work.  We as Peter saw must see our own sinfulness and inability .   Christ brought the fish.  When they lowered the nets  " they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake."  Simon Peter said when he saw it and so many fish that the boat was about to begin to sink, " he fell down at Jesus' knees saying,' Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.'  "  We are not holy but we are holy in Christ and in God.  In our power and in our own lives we are unable to do spiritual work.  But when we realize our need of confession to God about this and realizing His great holiness we know where we need to point others for them to know Him as well.  But we must first realize this ourselves .
                Lastly, Jesus says to Peter to not fear , " from henceforth you shall catch men."  That is what we are to be too. We are to be fishers of souls and others who are seeking and need to know of God's love, light and power for that is the only that will bring relief to a dark world.  This world is passing away the Apostle John says but the one who does the will of God abideth forever. I John 2:17  In Him is life and the life is the light of men. John 1:4.
               What did Peter do and the others with him? 5:11 tells us " And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed Him."  We must do this as well for spiritual fruit to be seen in our lives and in our families. We must keep Christ at the center of our lives, and nothing must be more important than that.  Otherwise people will see right through it.  They will not believe because we are not practising our faith before others.  We are not showing that Christ is the most important thing .  Something else has replaced Him.  That is not attractive to others.  Only when others see our spiritual commitment will they have an active witness before their faces.  A shallow faith or a faith that is dependent on circumstances or what we can get is not a faith at all.
             I conclude with one more thought.  " An evangel, therefore , is good news to such as need it.  Joy is in it, the note of hope, of optimism.  It comes to a man in the darkness, and brings him light.  It comes to a man in bondage, and announces the way of escape.  It comes to a man under the sentence of death, and tells him that the sentence has been remitted." Morgan.
            That is the good news of the angels.  The good news is that a sinner can be changed through believing in Jesus Christ and receiving Him as Lord and Saviour.  A man can be turned from darkness to light not be his own power or his own belief but by the love and grace of God who so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but will have everlasting life.
              Do you and I believe this?  Or are we still trying to do things in our own way and in our power?  Then let us forsake all and follow Him.