Committed – Leaving it All Behind {Luke 5:1-11}
12:00 PM
I’m sure all of us at one time or another have longed to do
something truly wonderful for The Lord after all He’s done for us! But I’ve
found saying it, and actually doing it can be at complete ends of the spectrum, and the great chasm in between comes down to commitment! Are you
committed or not? And if so, how committed
you are may be exactly what determines your success or failure to do all you
desire to do.
For total commitment means that Jesus Christ is Lord in every
area of our lives; our mind, body, will, time, schedule, rights and privileges,
etc.
An amazing picture of this is found in Luke 5:1-11. The
chapter begins with Peter on the beach washing his fishing nets, and ends with
Peter leaving everything behind to follow Jesus.
And in these 11 verses we can see the steps we all need to
take towards total commitment, or being wholly surrendered (sold out).
The
First Step: getting involved. Did you notice Peter was willing to let Jesus use his boat. If you turned back to Luke 4:38 , “Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon.” We can see that Peter
already knew the Lord at this time, but until now he has been content just to
hear the Word of God while continuing his normal way of living.
Does this remind you of anyone you know? Those willing to listen to the Word of God, but
not much change in lifestyle. They’re sitting in churches all over the country
on Sunday morning. They get their dose of religion on Sunday and go back to “washing
their nets” on Monday and nothing much changes week after week. Except this
time Peter lets the Lord have his boat.
Second
Step: Be willing to turn
over what we own to the Lord for His use. We all believe we own our time, talents as
well as our material goods. Just look at how many of us try to hold onto these things when it ultimately all belongs to Him.
Are you willing to make yourself and your possessions
available for the Lord's use?
Third
Step:”...push out a little" "He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore." (verse 3). It is one thing to
make what we own available for the Lord's use, but it is another thing to leave
the "security of the land" and step out in faith.
It takes faith and courage to leave our comfort zone and “push out!” There will always be risks and sacrifice
involved, but all we’re asked to do can never compare to all He has already
done for us!
It’s also important to notice The Lord Jesus does not force
Peter, He asks him (verse 3). Jesus could have simply walked out on the water
without the use of any boat, but He wants Peter to join Him. I’ll never
understand why God delights to use us for His glory, but I’m grateful He
chooses to, and grows our faith in Him.
The
Fourth Step toward total commitment is found in verse 4. Peter is told to "launch into the
deep." Here, The Lord is calling Peter to total dependence on Him. It’s here in the deep that we best experience the Lord's
power, and realize that He really does provide in miraculous ways for the very things that may have kept us back from total commitment at one time!
It’s also here in the deep that we learn to worship! When
Peter experienced the Lord's power in the deep, he fell down before Jesus and
confessed, "I am a sinful man, O Lord.", for the closer we are drawn
to Jesus the clearer we see ourselves and our sin compared to His holiness. Yet,
The Lord Jesus does not leave us, or shame us, but chooses to comforts us and eventually transforms
us.
By now, Peter is “all in” and chooses to leave everything and
followed his Lord. If we read on, we’ll soon discover that Peter wasn’t
perfect. He probably slipped up more than all the rest, which tells us total
commitment does not mean we need to be perfect, only surrendered. It's a matter
of taking our self off the throne of life and enthroning Christ.
Now, may I ask you, how committed are you to Christ Jesus?
Have you left the beach? Have you "pushed out a little"? Or have you already
"launched out into the deep"?
Is Jesus Lord?
Blessings,
sue
Blessings,
sue
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