1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:12,880 Dear God, thank you so much for bringing us through this week. 2 00:00:12,880 --> 00:00:16,360 Thank you just for this opportunity to gather together. 3 00:00:16,360 --> 00:00:20,960 And Lord, we know that you have something in store for us. 4 00:00:20,960 --> 00:00:26,080 You have something in store for us as a church, something in store for us as individuals. 5 00:00:26,080 --> 00:00:30,240 You lead us and guide us in the direction you would have us to go. 6 00:00:30,240 --> 00:00:33,240 In your name we pray, amen. 7 00:00:33,240 --> 00:00:36,440 I imagine many of you have been to an aquarium before. 8 00:00:36,440 --> 00:00:41,240 Maybe the aquarium in Chattanooga or down in Atlanta. 9 00:00:41,240 --> 00:00:45,800 Or if not though, you know, maybe Ripley's Aquarium up in Gatlinburg. 10 00:00:45,800 --> 00:00:50,040 Or perhaps you've been to the Bass Pro Shop. 11 00:00:50,040 --> 00:00:53,040 You know, they've got the big aquarium there. 12 00:00:53,040 --> 00:00:58,320 Earlier this year my wife and I went over to Memphis, Tennessee for a few days. 13 00:00:58,320 --> 00:01:04,560 And if you've been to Memphis or driven through, there's a big structure next to the river. 14 00:01:04,560 --> 00:01:06,560 Anybody know what it is? 15 00:01:06,560 --> 00:01:07,320 A pyramid. 16 00:01:07,320 --> 00:01:09,720 It used to be a basketball arena. 17 00:01:09,720 --> 00:01:12,880 And now it's the biggest Bass Pro Shop in the world. 18 00:01:12,880 --> 00:01:19,840 And if you go in there, there are huge aquariums and fish and all kinds of aquatic creatures. 19 00:01:19,840 --> 00:01:25,320 Now what you may or may not realize is that sometimes at a place like a Bass Pro Shop 20 00:01:25,320 --> 00:01:32,960 or somewhere else where they have large aquariums, sometimes they will have a demonstration. 21 00:01:32,960 --> 00:01:37,760 And in this demonstration they will throw in a fishing lure. 22 00:01:37,760 --> 00:01:43,360 And so then they'll reel the fishing lure back and you can see through the aquarium, 23 00:01:43,360 --> 00:01:48,560 through the glass, you can see the action that this lure has. 24 00:01:48,560 --> 00:01:50,360 Does it swim like a fish? 25 00:01:50,360 --> 00:01:52,440 Does it go up and down? 26 00:01:52,440 --> 00:01:55,800 And if you stop reeling, does it float? 27 00:01:55,800 --> 00:01:56,880 Does it sink? 28 00:01:56,880 --> 00:02:02,760 And not only can you see what the lure does, but you can see what the fish do when they 29 00:02:02,760 --> 00:02:03,800 see this lure. 30 00:02:03,800 --> 00:02:05,400 Are they attracted to it? 31 00:02:05,400 --> 00:02:07,760 Do they swim the other direction? 32 00:02:07,760 --> 00:02:09,720 Do they go away? 33 00:02:09,720 --> 00:02:15,720 And so that kind of fascinates me a little bit because they have the fish in the aquarium 34 00:02:15,720 --> 00:02:22,720 and they are in essence trying to catch fish that have already been caught. 35 00:02:22,720 --> 00:02:23,720 They're in the aquarium. 36 00:02:23,720 --> 00:02:25,720 We've already got these fish. 37 00:02:25,720 --> 00:02:31,720 And so these demonstrations, you are catching something that you've already got. 38 00:02:31,720 --> 00:02:36,520 You're catching something that has already been placed there. 39 00:02:36,520 --> 00:02:44,120 But I think as Christians we are called to catch new fish, to catch something new. 40 00:02:44,120 --> 00:02:49,720 There's a really, really famous saying of Jesus that says, follow me and I will make 41 00:02:49,720 --> 00:02:51,720 you fishers of men. 42 00:02:51,720 --> 00:02:53,520 We've heard that. 43 00:02:53,520 --> 00:03:01,520 That's in Matthew and Mark is where those gospels, follow me and I will make you fishers 44 00:03:01,520 --> 00:03:02,520 of men. 45 00:03:02,520 --> 00:03:08,920 And in fact, not only do we know that saying, but we probably have sung a song something 46 00:03:08,920 --> 00:03:09,920 like that before. 47 00:03:09,920 --> 00:03:16,720 Maybe from the time we were in Craterill or the smallest Sabbath school that we have because 48 00:03:16,720 --> 00:03:17,720 there's a couple songs. 49 00:03:17,720 --> 00:03:20,720 There's one that says, you can sing along. 50 00:03:20,720 --> 00:03:24,720 I will make you fishers of men. 51 00:03:24,720 --> 00:03:26,720 Fishers of men. 52 00:03:26,720 --> 00:03:28,720 Fishers of men. 53 00:03:28,720 --> 00:03:35,720 I will make you fishers of men if you follow me. 54 00:03:35,720 --> 00:03:36,720 Keep it going. 55 00:03:36,720 --> 00:03:40,720 If you follow me. 56 00:03:40,720 --> 00:03:44,720 If you follow me. 57 00:03:44,720 --> 00:03:52,720 I will make you fishers of men if you follow me. 58 00:03:52,720 --> 00:03:54,720 And then there's another one too. 59 00:03:54,720 --> 00:03:56,720 It goes something like this. 60 00:03:56,720 --> 00:03:58,720 Make me a fisher of men. 61 00:03:58,720 --> 00:04:00,720 Keep me seeking. 62 00:04:00,720 --> 00:04:03,720 Make me a fisher of men. 63 00:04:03,720 --> 00:04:04,720 I pray. 64 00:04:04,720 --> 00:04:05,720 Hallelujah. 65 00:04:05,720 --> 00:04:07,720 Make me a fisher of men. 66 00:04:07,720 --> 00:04:09,720 Keep me seeking. 67 00:04:09,720 --> 00:04:13,720 Seeking souls till Jesus comes again. 68 00:04:13,720 --> 00:04:15,720 You want to take it away? 69 00:04:15,720 --> 00:04:17,720 Sing, Hosanna. 70 00:04:17,720 --> 00:04:19,720 Sing, Hosanna. 71 00:04:19,720 --> 00:04:25,720 Sing, Hosanna to the King of Kings. 72 00:04:25,720 --> 00:04:27,720 Sing, Hosanna. 73 00:04:27,720 --> 00:04:29,720 Sing, Hosanna. 74 00:04:29,720 --> 00:04:34,720 Sing, Hosanna to the King. 75 00:04:34,720 --> 00:04:38,720 And that song has a lot more verses than you could do like that. 76 00:04:38,720 --> 00:04:44,720 Did anybody used to think that was make me a fisher of men, keep me seeking? 77 00:04:44,720 --> 00:04:46,720 I know some people have thought that. 78 00:04:46,720 --> 00:04:47,720 But it's seeking. 79 00:04:47,720 --> 00:04:48,720 Seeking souls. 80 00:04:48,720 --> 00:04:49,720 Seeking Jesus. 81 00:04:49,720 --> 00:04:51,720 We know those songs. 82 00:04:51,720 --> 00:04:53,720 We know the saying. 83 00:04:53,720 --> 00:04:54,720 We can sing it. 84 00:04:54,720 --> 00:04:56,720 We just demonstrated that. 85 00:04:56,720 --> 00:04:58,720 We know the words. 86 00:04:58,720 --> 00:05:01,720 But what about the message? 87 00:05:01,720 --> 00:05:07,720 It's the message sung in into our heart and into our life. 88 00:05:07,720 --> 00:05:12,720 We're going to look today at Luke chapter 5. 89 00:05:12,720 --> 00:05:16,720 And the phrase is worded just a little bit differently here. 90 00:05:16,720 --> 00:05:24,720 But we're going to explore and see if as a church, if as Christians, we can learn a message for us today. 91 00:05:24,720 --> 00:05:26,720 So Luke chapter 5. 92 00:05:26,720 --> 00:05:29,720 We'll pick up the story in verse 1. 93 00:05:29,720 --> 00:05:31,720 Luke 5 and verse 1. 94 00:05:31,720 --> 00:05:44,720 It says, So it was, as the multitude pressed about him to hear the word of the Lord, that he, Jesus, stood by the lake of Genniserat, or the Sea of Galilee. 95 00:05:44,720 --> 00:05:46,720 We often refer to that as. 96 00:05:46,720 --> 00:05:48,720 And so maybe you can picture it. 97 00:05:48,720 --> 00:05:49,720 Jesus is there. 98 00:05:49,720 --> 00:05:51,720 He's preaching. 99 00:05:51,720 --> 00:05:54,720 He's preaching the word of God. 100 00:05:54,720 --> 00:05:57,720 And how many people are there? 101 00:05:57,720 --> 00:05:58,720 It says a multitude. 102 00:05:58,720 --> 00:05:59,720 That's a lot of people. 103 00:05:59,720 --> 00:06:03,720 There's a huge crowd of people that is pressing around. 104 00:06:03,720 --> 00:06:07,720 They want to hear what Jesus has to say. 105 00:06:07,720 --> 00:06:11,720 And it seems as if perhaps they're getting a little too close to him. 106 00:06:11,720 --> 00:06:20,720 You know, if you've been in a crowded situation, maybe, you know, the mall at Christmas time or a, you know, basketball game or something after the games over. 107 00:06:20,720 --> 00:06:22,720 It's just a lot of people around. 108 00:06:22,720 --> 00:06:25,720 And these people are pressing close to Jesus. 109 00:06:25,720 --> 00:06:38,720 And Jesus looks over at verse two and it says, And saw two boats standing by the lake, but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. 110 00:06:38,720 --> 00:06:42,720 So these fishermen, and we see a little bit later, had spent the night fishing. 111 00:06:42,720 --> 00:06:46,720 And now they're putting their nets away. 112 00:06:46,720 --> 00:06:47,720 They're putting everything up. 113 00:06:47,720 --> 00:06:49,720 They're washing. 114 00:06:49,720 --> 00:06:50,720 They're getting the seaweed out. 115 00:06:50,720 --> 00:06:54,720 Maybe repairing some lines that have broken there. 116 00:06:54,720 --> 00:07:00,720 They're just getting ready to store the stuff for the day because they have been working all night. 117 00:07:00,720 --> 00:07:06,720 They weren't necessarily listening at this moment, listening to the words of Jesus. 118 00:07:06,720 --> 00:07:09,720 They were engaged in their work, engaged in their activity. 119 00:07:09,720 --> 00:07:15,720 But then Jesus changed that just a little bit because this crowd was pressing in. 120 00:07:15,720 --> 00:07:21,720 It says in verse three, Then Jesus got into one of the boats, which was Simon's. 121 00:07:21,720 --> 00:07:24,720 We also refer to him as Peter. 122 00:07:24,720 --> 00:07:28,720 And Jesus asked him to put out a little from the land. 123 00:07:28,720 --> 00:07:32,720 And he sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat. 124 00:07:32,720 --> 00:07:38,720 So this crowd is getting so close that Jesus can't project. 125 00:07:38,720 --> 00:07:39,720 They're just too close. 126 00:07:39,720 --> 00:07:43,720 And so he gets into the boat, sets off just a little bit. 127 00:07:43,720 --> 00:07:45,720 And so he can teach. 128 00:07:45,720 --> 00:07:54,720 They say that they found between the town of Bethesda and Tagba, another town on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee, 129 00:07:54,720 --> 00:08:00,720 that there's perhaps a little cove that the hill set just right to be a little amphitheater. 130 00:08:00,720 --> 00:08:10,720 And so it'd be easy to picture Jesus in this boat just a little ways out, teaching to a multitude, a vast multitude of people. 131 00:08:10,720 --> 00:08:11,720 And they were there. 132 00:08:11,720 --> 00:08:15,720 They wanted to hear what Jesus was saying. 133 00:08:15,720 --> 00:08:19,720 So Jesus is talking to this group. 134 00:08:19,720 --> 00:08:24,720 But then as Jesus often does, Jesus makes it personal. 135 00:08:24,720 --> 00:08:26,720 Notice verse four. 136 00:08:26,720 --> 00:08:34,720 It says, When he stopped speaking to the crowd, he said to Simon. 137 00:08:34,720 --> 00:08:39,720 So we've been talking to this big group of people, but now Jesus makes it personal. 138 00:08:39,720 --> 00:08:42,720 And that's what Jesus does for us. 139 00:08:42,720 --> 00:08:55,720 It's not enough to just, this is a great start to come and join our church family, to sit here, to worship together, to fellowship together in the crowd, in the multitude. 140 00:08:55,720 --> 00:08:58,720 But Jesus wants it to be personal. 141 00:08:58,720 --> 00:09:01,720 Jesus wants us to have a connection with him. 142 00:09:01,720 --> 00:09:08,720 And that's what Jesus, he stopped speaking to the crowd and he said to Simon, gave him an assignment here. 143 00:09:08,720 --> 00:09:15,720 Launch out into the deep and let your nets down for a catch. 144 00:09:15,720 --> 00:09:18,720 You're not going to catch any fish on the shore. 145 00:09:18,720 --> 00:09:22,720 Go out into the deep water because that's where the fish are. 146 00:09:22,720 --> 00:09:28,720 Simon, if you want to catch fish, you've got to go to where the fish are. 147 00:09:28,720 --> 00:09:35,720 There was an experience I had, I think I was a teenager and our family had gone down to Florida for a little while. 148 00:09:35,720 --> 00:09:38,720 And one day we went deep sea fishing. 149 00:09:38,720 --> 00:09:39,720 We went deep sea fishing. 150 00:09:39,720 --> 00:09:49,720 Now this isn't like you might imagine, you know, where you're catching a marlin out behind the boat and it's jumping out of the, this was not that, this was a big boat. 151 00:09:49,720 --> 00:09:52,720 There was probably about this many people on the boat. 152 00:09:52,720 --> 00:09:58,720 And we would go out to a certain place and we would just drop our line straight down. 153 00:09:58,720 --> 00:10:06,720 And the captain said when the line stops going down, that means it's hit the bottom and reel it up like two or three feet. 154 00:10:06,720 --> 00:10:09,720 So drop your bait down and then reel it up. 155 00:10:09,720 --> 00:10:15,720 And as we were doing this deep sea fishing, there was a prize that could be won. 156 00:10:15,720 --> 00:10:20,720 So each one of the people on the boat had the opportunity to win the prize. 157 00:10:20,720 --> 00:10:25,720 And the prize was everybody donated one dollar into the prize. 158 00:10:25,720 --> 00:10:29,720 And whoever caught the biggest fish that day would win the prize. 159 00:10:29,720 --> 00:10:31,720 That was, that was what was happening. 160 00:10:31,720 --> 00:10:34,720 And so we all put in a dollar. 161 00:10:34,720 --> 00:10:37,720 We got our lines down. 162 00:10:37,720 --> 00:10:42,720 We weren't really where the fish were that day because nobody was catching very much. 163 00:10:42,720 --> 00:10:47,720 And so we went to a different place, dropped the lines down, reeled it up just a little bit. 164 00:10:47,720 --> 00:10:52,720 And one guy caught something and the rod was bent over and he was reeling this thing in. 165 00:10:52,720 --> 00:11:00,720 But as it got up close to the boat, the captain and the mates looked down and they said, that's a shark. 166 00:11:00,720 --> 00:11:04,720 We're not going to put that onto the boat because that's not safe. 167 00:11:04,720 --> 00:11:06,720 It wasn't a huge shark, but it was. 168 00:11:06,720 --> 00:11:11,720 So when they got it close, they cut the line so the shark could swim away. 169 00:11:11,720 --> 00:11:14,720 So that didn't count because they didn't catch it. 170 00:11:14,720 --> 00:11:16,720 They didn't bring it into the boat. 171 00:11:16,720 --> 00:11:21,720 And that guy was a little upset because that would have been the biggest fish of the day. 172 00:11:21,720 --> 00:11:23,720 But it was against the rules of the boat. 173 00:11:23,720 --> 00:11:25,720 And so he did not win the prize. 174 00:11:25,720 --> 00:11:30,720 Someone else won the prize for the biggest fish. 175 00:11:30,720 --> 00:11:32,720 Me. 176 00:11:32,720 --> 00:11:34,720 I caught the biggest fish. 177 00:11:34,720 --> 00:11:39,720 And that fish was about two pounds. 178 00:11:39,720 --> 00:11:41,720 It wasn't a big fish at all. 179 00:11:41,720 --> 00:11:43,720 It was two pounds. 180 00:11:43,720 --> 00:11:49,720 But I won the prize because I caught the biggest small fish of the day. 181 00:11:49,720 --> 00:11:53,720 We had not quite gone to where the fish were. 182 00:11:53,720 --> 00:11:59,720 We caught a few, but there were many more fish that could have been caught that day. 183 00:11:59,720 --> 00:12:10,720 And it seems to me like too often as Christians, as a church, too often maybe we hang out too long at the aquarium 184 00:12:10,720 --> 00:12:15,720 where the fish have already been caught, where everything is clean, 185 00:12:15,720 --> 00:12:19,720 and the lights look so good and there's no algae in there, 186 00:12:19,720 --> 00:12:23,720 but the fish are so pretty as you watch them swimming by. 187 00:12:23,720 --> 00:12:30,720 But maybe we need to go somewhere else to look for fish to be caught. 188 00:12:30,720 --> 00:12:33,720 So let me read some statistics here. 189 00:12:33,720 --> 00:12:36,720 I had a cool graphic for this, but I'll just have to read them. 190 00:12:36,720 --> 00:12:38,720 So Ringgold Church, we are in what county? 191 00:12:38,720 --> 00:12:40,720 Catoosa County. 192 00:12:40,720 --> 00:12:43,720 Does anyone know how many people live in Catoosa County? 193 00:12:43,720 --> 00:12:51,720 As of 2022, there were 68,800 in some. 194 00:12:51,720 --> 00:12:55,720 So almost 69,000 people live in Catoosa County. 195 00:12:55,720 --> 00:12:59,720 So, you know, a decent sized county. 196 00:12:59,720 --> 00:13:03,720 This is a statistic that surprised me just a little bit, 197 00:13:03,720 --> 00:13:07,720 but I saw in several different areas that of those 69,000 people, 198 00:13:07,720 --> 00:13:14,720 30.9, 31% claim to be religious. 199 00:13:14,720 --> 00:13:17,720 That's not very much. 200 00:13:17,720 --> 00:13:24,720 And let me tell you why, because the average in Georgia is about 51 or 52% claim to be religious. 201 00:13:24,720 --> 00:13:30,720 The average in the greater Chattanooga area is actually about 54%. 202 00:13:30,720 --> 00:13:35,720 So Catoosa County, it surprised me a little bit, is below that average, 203 00:13:35,720 --> 00:13:42,720 but as I looked at it, there were a couple different denominations that didn't have very many. 204 00:13:42,720 --> 00:13:46,720 And as I've driven around, it's like, well, I haven't seen a lot of those churches. 205 00:13:46,720 --> 00:13:49,720 So maybe that's accurate. 206 00:13:49,720 --> 00:13:55,720 And of those 68,000, of those 30% that are religious, the most, 207 00:13:55,720 --> 00:13:57,720 anybody have a guess what denomination? 208 00:13:57,720 --> 00:13:58,720 The Baptists. 209 00:13:58,720 --> 00:14:02,720 The Baptists are about 21% of the county. 210 00:14:02,720 --> 00:14:06,720 So let's look at the Summit of the Adventist Church in Catoosa County. 211 00:14:06,720 --> 00:14:11,720 There are two churches in Catoosa County, the Ringgold Church and the? 212 00:14:11,720 --> 00:14:13,720 The Battlefield Church. 213 00:14:13,720 --> 00:14:19,720 And between those two churches, there are about 230 members. 214 00:14:19,720 --> 00:14:23,720 230 members in Catoosa County. 215 00:14:23,720 --> 00:14:28,720 Now we know, we all know some Summit of the Adventists who live in Catoosa County, 216 00:14:28,720 --> 00:14:34,720 but maybe go to church, you know, north of the border up there where Little Demiland is, you know, up that direction. 217 00:14:34,720 --> 00:14:38,720 But we know that some people here today do not live in Catoosa County. 218 00:14:38,720 --> 00:14:41,720 So it balances out just a little bit. 219 00:14:41,720 --> 00:14:45,720 But using those numbers, I'm not great at math, 220 00:14:45,720 --> 00:14:53,720 but I think that that means in Catoosa County, 0.3% are Summit of the Adventists. 221 00:14:53,720 --> 00:14:57,720 0.3% are Summit of the Adventists. 222 00:14:57,720 --> 00:15:05,720 That means that over 99% of the people that we meet here are not Summit of the Adventists. 223 00:15:05,720 --> 00:15:09,720 And if we take that number of religious, 224 00:15:09,720 --> 00:15:18,720 that means that there are 70% of the people in the county that desperately need a saving relationship with Jesus. 225 00:15:18,720 --> 00:15:23,720 That means seven out of the ten people that you come in contact with 226 00:15:23,720 --> 00:15:33,720 at your office, at your school, at Ingalls, at Taco Bell, wherever you work, wherever you shop, wherever you go out to eat, 227 00:15:33,720 --> 00:15:37,720 seven out of ten are not religious. 228 00:15:37,720 --> 00:15:44,720 That means there's a lot of fish, if we can use that term, that can be caught. 229 00:15:44,720 --> 00:15:51,720 Jesus told Peter, go out into the deep, go to where the fish are. 230 00:15:51,720 --> 00:15:55,720 And so we look at verse five and we see Peter's response, 231 00:15:55,720 --> 00:15:59,720 launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch. 232 00:15:59,720 --> 00:16:05,720 But verse five, Simon answered and said to him, Simon has some questions here. 233 00:16:05,720 --> 00:16:08,720 Simon's not sure about this assignment. 234 00:16:08,720 --> 00:16:14,720 Simon says, Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing. 235 00:16:14,720 --> 00:16:19,720 We've tried this, Jesus, we've been working all night. 236 00:16:19,720 --> 00:16:22,720 My nets are clean. I put them away. 237 00:16:22,720 --> 00:16:26,720 We have tried this and we have not caught anything. 238 00:16:26,720 --> 00:16:31,720 We've tried it before, but we don't have any success. 239 00:16:31,720 --> 00:16:36,720 You ever heard that phrase? We've tried that before. 240 00:16:36,720 --> 00:16:41,720 We've tried something, but there's no success. 241 00:16:41,720 --> 00:16:43,720 But notice what Simon said. 242 00:16:43,720 --> 00:16:47,720 We've toiled all night and caught nothing. 243 00:16:47,720 --> 00:16:51,720 But Jesus said, I will let down the net. 244 00:16:51,720 --> 00:16:57,720 Nevertheless, nevertheless, at your word, because of what you tell me, Jesus, 245 00:16:57,720 --> 00:17:00,720 I will let down the net. 246 00:17:00,720 --> 00:17:03,720 Peter's like, I don't want to do it. I don't think it's going to work. 247 00:17:03,720 --> 00:17:08,720 But Jesus, because you have told me this, I'm going to let down the net. 248 00:17:08,720 --> 00:17:14,720 Verse six, and when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish 249 00:17:14,720 --> 00:17:17,720 and so they signaled to their partners in the other boat, come and help. 250 00:17:17,720 --> 00:17:22,720 And they came and filled both boats so that they begun to sink. 251 00:17:22,720 --> 00:17:28,720 So the nets are in and suddenly there's this huge mass of aquatic life. 252 00:17:28,720 --> 00:17:34,720 You know, fish flip-flopping around, you know, all over the place. 253 00:17:34,720 --> 00:17:38,720 They're trying to pull them in. They're breaking the nets. Come help us. 254 00:17:38,720 --> 00:17:43,720 The other boat comes over and there's so many fish that now two boats are overloaded. 255 00:17:43,720 --> 00:17:49,720 Two boats are brought down. An astounding catch of fish. 256 00:17:49,720 --> 00:17:54,720 And so there's, you know, flopping. They're messy. They're slimy. 257 00:17:54,720 --> 00:17:58,720 They're a huge group of fish. They're messy. 258 00:17:58,720 --> 00:18:02,720 You know, sometimes fishing can be messy. 259 00:18:02,720 --> 00:18:05,720 You guys ever heard of something called noodling? 260 00:18:05,720 --> 00:18:10,720 Now this is not something for Asian lunch. It's something totally different. 261 00:18:10,720 --> 00:18:14,720 Now noodling is a way to fish. It does not involve a net. 262 00:18:14,720 --> 00:18:17,720 It does not involve a hook and a line. 263 00:18:17,720 --> 00:18:23,720 But it involves an individual getting in the water, getting in the river or the creek, 264 00:18:23,720 --> 00:18:28,720 going to the muddy bank of the river, finding a hole, 265 00:18:28,720 --> 00:18:33,720 and sticking their hand, sticking their arm into the hole. 266 00:18:33,720 --> 00:18:36,720 He's hoping there's not a big snapping turtle in there. 267 00:18:36,720 --> 00:18:42,720 And so the purpose, the goal is to stick your hand into the mouth of the catfish 268 00:18:42,720 --> 00:18:46,720 and then wrestle, pull this catfish out. 269 00:18:46,720 --> 00:18:50,720 And they may pull out a 20 pound catfish or a 50 pound catfish. 270 00:18:50,720 --> 00:18:54,720 And it's messy. They're muddy. 271 00:18:54,720 --> 00:18:59,720 Sometimes they're bloody because those fish are gnawing on their wrists a little bit. 272 00:18:59,720 --> 00:19:02,720 Sometimes fishing can be messy. 273 00:19:02,720 --> 00:19:05,720 In fact, let's turn over to Matthew chapter 13. 274 00:19:05,720 --> 00:19:10,720 There's a loop. But in Matthew 13, Jesus tells another parable, 275 00:19:10,720 --> 00:19:13,720 Matthew chapter 13. 276 00:19:13,720 --> 00:19:16,720 We're going to pick it up in verse 40. 277 00:19:16,720 --> 00:19:19,720 Excuse, Matthew, I'm in Mark. No one. 278 00:19:19,720 --> 00:19:24,720 Matthew 13 and verse 47. 279 00:19:24,720 --> 00:19:27,720 Matthew 13 did not have 47 verses. 280 00:19:27,720 --> 00:19:30,720 Matthew 13 and verse 47. Jesus tells a parable. 281 00:19:30,720 --> 00:19:35,720 And he says, Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet 282 00:19:35,720 --> 00:19:40,720 that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, 283 00:19:40,720 --> 00:19:44,720 which when it was full, they drew to shore and they sat down. 284 00:19:44,720 --> 00:19:47,720 So they've got this net full of aquatic life 285 00:19:47,720 --> 00:19:53,720 and they gathered the good into vessels and they threw the bad away. 286 00:19:53,720 --> 00:19:56,720 So in this fish, there's all kinds of stuff. 287 00:19:56,720 --> 00:20:02,720 There's bass, there's trout, there's tilapia, there's catfish, 288 00:20:02,720 --> 00:20:05,720 there's clean, there's unclean, there's carp, 289 00:20:05,720 --> 00:20:08,720 there's ones that are good to eat and others. 290 00:20:08,720 --> 00:20:11,720 And it says they're dividing them up. 291 00:20:11,720 --> 00:20:14,720 The good they're keeping, the bad they're throwing away. 292 00:20:14,720 --> 00:20:17,720 And then notice verse 49. 293 00:20:17,720 --> 00:20:21,720 It says, So it will be at the end of the age. 294 00:20:21,720 --> 00:20:25,720 Then it says, who's going to do the separating here? 295 00:20:25,720 --> 00:20:31,720 The angels will come forth and separate the wicked from among the just. 296 00:20:31,720 --> 00:20:36,720 But who's separating? The angels. 297 00:20:36,720 --> 00:20:40,720 That means it's not necessarily our job to separate. 298 00:20:40,720 --> 00:20:46,720 It's not our job to choose to say who's good and who's bad. 299 00:20:46,720 --> 00:20:50,720 That's the angels' job. That's God's job. 300 00:20:50,720 --> 00:20:56,720 Sometimes we want to try to do that separating ourselves. 301 00:20:56,720 --> 00:21:01,720 Sometimes if new fish come into the aquarium, 302 00:21:01,720 --> 00:21:04,720 I think they're a little different. 303 00:21:04,720 --> 00:21:06,720 They've got some different ideas. 304 00:21:06,720 --> 00:21:09,720 Maybe they sit in our seat at Mercy. 305 00:21:09,720 --> 00:21:13,720 Maybe they don't feel welcomed as they should. 306 00:21:13,720 --> 00:21:16,720 Sometimes people talk about a church as being unfriendly. 307 00:21:16,720 --> 00:21:19,720 Now I haven't heard that about this church. 308 00:21:19,720 --> 00:21:22,720 But sometimes people will say that. 309 00:21:22,720 --> 00:21:25,720 And a church may look around and say, 310 00:21:25,720 --> 00:21:27,720 We're friendly. There's my friend there. 311 00:21:27,720 --> 00:21:29,720 And I'm friends with that person. 312 00:21:29,720 --> 00:21:32,720 And a church can be friendly with each other. 313 00:21:32,720 --> 00:21:34,720 We can be friendly with each other, 314 00:21:34,720 --> 00:21:39,720 but bring a new fish into the aquarium. 315 00:21:39,720 --> 00:21:43,720 And sometimes people aren't so sure. 316 00:21:43,720 --> 00:21:47,720 And so a church is a group of believers, 317 00:21:47,720 --> 00:21:50,720 a place of community, 318 00:21:50,720 --> 00:21:53,720 a place where people can feel welcome. 319 00:21:53,720 --> 00:21:58,720 And so everyone who comes in can experience friendliness, 320 00:21:58,720 --> 00:22:01,720 can experience love, 321 00:22:01,720 --> 00:22:04,720 can experience acceptance. 322 00:22:04,720 --> 00:22:07,720 So if you see a new face, 323 00:22:07,720 --> 00:22:10,720 if you see somebody you don't recognize, 324 00:22:10,720 --> 00:22:13,720 say hello. Welcome them. 325 00:22:13,720 --> 00:22:15,720 Ask their name. 326 00:22:15,720 --> 00:22:18,720 Tell them that you're glad that we are here. 327 00:22:18,720 --> 00:22:21,720 That they are here, that we are here with them. 328 00:22:21,720 --> 00:22:24,720 Everybody deserves that friendliness. 329 00:22:24,720 --> 00:22:26,720 Everyone deserves that love, 330 00:22:26,720 --> 00:22:30,720 because they are a child of God. 331 00:22:30,720 --> 00:22:32,720 And so we can look ahead. 332 00:22:32,720 --> 00:22:35,720 We talked already about a meeting coming up, 333 00:22:35,720 --> 00:22:36,720 a prophecy seminar. 334 00:22:36,720 --> 00:22:39,720 So let's look ahead like three weeks. 335 00:22:39,720 --> 00:22:41,720 And by God's grace, 336 00:22:41,720 --> 00:22:43,720 hopefully we'll have some people in the community 337 00:22:43,720 --> 00:22:46,720 that are wanting to learn more about Jesus, 338 00:22:46,720 --> 00:22:49,720 that are wanting to learn more about the Savior 339 00:22:49,720 --> 00:22:51,720 who died for their sins, 340 00:22:51,720 --> 00:22:56,720 wanting to learn more about the God who created them, 341 00:22:56,720 --> 00:23:01,720 who is promising to come soon and take them to heaven. 342 00:23:01,720 --> 00:23:03,720 Let's make sure that we're welcoming, 343 00:23:03,720 --> 00:23:05,720 that we're loving, 344 00:23:05,720 --> 00:23:09,720 that we're being friendly to everybody that we meet, 345 00:23:09,720 --> 00:23:12,720 everybody that we come in contact with. 346 00:23:12,720 --> 00:23:14,720 Let's look back at Luke here, 347 00:23:14,720 --> 00:23:16,720 because this story is not over. 348 00:23:16,720 --> 00:23:21,720 They caught this big, messy catch of fish. 349 00:23:21,720 --> 00:23:23,720 The boats were sinking. 350 00:23:23,720 --> 00:23:26,720 And then notice the response, verse 8. 351 00:23:26,720 --> 00:23:29,720 It says, When Simon Peter saw it, 352 00:23:29,720 --> 00:23:34,720 he fell down at Jesus' knees or Jesus' feet, 353 00:23:34,720 --> 00:23:40,720 saying, Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord. 354 00:23:40,720 --> 00:23:44,720 So it's almost like two different things, 355 00:23:44,720 --> 00:23:47,720 an oxymoron of what's happening. 356 00:23:47,720 --> 00:23:50,720 Because it says he falls down at Jesus' feet. 357 00:23:50,720 --> 00:23:52,720 That's the action. 358 00:23:52,720 --> 00:23:55,720 But his words are like, Get away from me, Jesus. 359 00:23:55,720 --> 00:23:57,720 You are holy. 360 00:23:57,720 --> 00:23:59,720 Because of this miracle, I see that holiness, 361 00:23:59,720 --> 00:24:01,720 that I am a sinful man. 362 00:24:01,720 --> 00:24:05,720 So he falls down to worship him at his feet, 363 00:24:05,720 --> 00:24:07,720 to cling to his feet. 364 00:24:07,720 --> 00:24:11,720 And I don't even deserve to be in your presence. 365 00:24:11,720 --> 00:24:14,720 I am not worthy to be here with you. 366 00:24:14,720 --> 00:24:18,720 It's almost like the story in Isaiah, chapter 6, 367 00:24:18,720 --> 00:24:23,720 where Isaiah is there, and he sees God high and lifted up. 368 00:24:23,720 --> 00:24:27,720 He sees the holiness of God, and Isaiah can only respond. 369 00:24:27,720 --> 00:24:29,720 Remember what he says? 370 00:24:29,720 --> 00:24:34,720 He said, Woe is me, for I am a man of unclean lips. 371 00:24:34,720 --> 00:24:40,720 He saw the glory of God, and he was reminded of his own sinfulness. 372 00:24:40,720 --> 00:24:44,720 And so here we see this miracle has taken place, 373 00:24:44,720 --> 00:24:47,720 and Peter is astonished by it. 374 00:24:47,720 --> 00:24:51,720 In verse 9 it says, For he and all who were with him 375 00:24:51,720 --> 00:24:56,720 were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken. 376 00:24:56,720 --> 00:25:00,720 So in this teaching moment, Jesus tells these disciples, 377 00:25:00,720 --> 00:25:04,720 and he tells Peter to go to where the fish are, 378 00:25:04,720 --> 00:25:08,720 and then Jesus works the miracle. 379 00:25:08,720 --> 00:25:12,720 Notice verse 10, it says, And so also they were astonished. 380 00:25:12,720 --> 00:25:15,720 So also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, 381 00:25:15,720 --> 00:25:17,720 who were partners with Simon. 382 00:25:17,720 --> 00:25:21,720 And Jesus said to Simon, Do not be afraid. 383 00:25:21,720 --> 00:25:26,720 From now on you will catch men, people. 384 00:25:26,720 --> 00:25:29,720 You're going to catch people for the kingdom of God. 385 00:25:29,720 --> 00:25:31,720 You caught fish. 386 00:25:31,720 --> 00:25:33,720 You didn't catch any last night, but with a miracle, 387 00:25:33,720 --> 00:25:35,720 you caught a big group. 388 00:25:35,720 --> 00:25:37,720 But from now on, don't be afraid. 389 00:25:37,720 --> 00:25:43,720 From now on you're going to catch this group of people for the kingdom. 390 00:25:43,720 --> 00:25:45,720 You're going to catch people for Jesus. 391 00:25:45,720 --> 00:25:49,720 And then verse 11 says, So when they had brought their boats to land, 392 00:25:49,720 --> 00:25:54,720 they forsook all and followed him. 393 00:25:54,720 --> 00:25:55,720 They had seen this miracle. 394 00:25:55,720 --> 00:25:59,720 They were amazed, and so they had to follow him. 395 00:25:59,720 --> 00:26:01,720 Jesus said, Don't be afraid. 396 00:26:01,720 --> 00:26:04,720 You will catch men. 397 00:26:04,720 --> 00:26:09,720 In the other gospels it says, Follow me and I will make you fishers of men. 398 00:26:09,720 --> 00:26:12,720 This is not an option. 399 00:26:12,720 --> 00:26:15,720 He doesn't say maybe you'll catch somebody. 400 00:26:15,720 --> 00:26:21,720 He says, If you're following me, you're going to be catching men. 401 00:26:21,720 --> 00:26:26,720 If you're following, then you're going to be fishing. 402 00:26:26,720 --> 00:26:27,720 Let me say that one more time. 403 00:26:27,720 --> 00:26:33,720 If you're following, you're going to be fishing. 404 00:26:33,720 --> 00:26:36,720 Let's flip that just a little bit. 405 00:26:36,720 --> 00:26:41,720 If you're not fishing, let me say it the other way one more time. 406 00:26:41,720 --> 00:26:46,720 If you are following, then you are going to be fishing. 407 00:26:46,720 --> 00:26:51,720 So if you aren't fishing, then maybe you're not following. 408 00:26:51,720 --> 00:26:53,720 Have mercy. 409 00:26:53,720 --> 00:26:59,720 That could be where we are because it's a miracle that's going to take place. 410 00:26:59,720 --> 00:27:03,720 It's a miracle that Jesus is going to do for us. 411 00:27:03,720 --> 00:27:07,720 Jesus is our only source of hope, of salvation. 412 00:27:07,720 --> 00:27:10,720 And by fishing, by going where the fish are, 413 00:27:10,720 --> 00:27:18,720 we can help others to find the grace, to find the salvation that has changed your life. 414 00:27:18,720 --> 00:27:26,720 And so whatever it takes to bring the hope of Jesus to a world that is in turmoil, 415 00:27:26,720 --> 00:27:32,720 you turn on the news and you see turmoil, you see wars, you see elections have mercy, 416 00:27:32,720 --> 00:27:36,720 you see hurricanes, you see all of these things taking place. 417 00:27:36,720 --> 00:27:38,720 But what are we doing? 418 00:27:38,720 --> 00:27:44,720 What can we do, whatever it takes, to bring hope to this world? 419 00:27:44,720 --> 00:27:48,720 We can use a storm as an example. 420 00:27:48,720 --> 00:27:57,720 Destruction, devastation, unspoken loss of life and so many other things. 421 00:27:57,720 --> 00:28:01,720 We have relatives from Asheville who don't have power and water. 422 00:28:01,720 --> 00:28:05,720 They came to be with us so they could have water and power. 423 00:28:05,720 --> 00:28:11,720 But even in the midst of this turmoil, you see people making a difference. 424 00:28:11,720 --> 00:28:16,720 I had some really cool pictures to show you of our church members, Darren's kids, 425 00:28:16,720 --> 00:28:24,720 down at Learning Tree, who collected a bunch of items to send to places in need. 426 00:28:24,720 --> 00:28:27,720 A truck full, a car full of items. 427 00:28:27,720 --> 00:28:32,720 Or up in Collegedale and Eastridge, those two communities combined. 428 00:28:32,720 --> 00:28:39,720 I think I read it was like 250,000 pounds of things had been donated 429 00:28:39,720 --> 00:28:43,720 to Northeast Tennessee to take to North Carolina. 430 00:28:43,720 --> 00:28:48,720 And throughout the week, planes, they've been loading planes full of supplies 431 00:28:48,720 --> 00:28:53,720 and flying them from Collegedale and many other places to land in Asheville 432 00:28:53,720 --> 00:28:56,720 and other places that you're not able to get to. 433 00:28:56,720 --> 00:29:01,720 So they're using children, they're using vehicles, they're using planes. 434 00:29:01,720 --> 00:29:06,720 You probably saw the story of a group of people who loaded up a bunch of pack mules 435 00:29:06,720 --> 00:29:11,720 and led them through the mountains and through the places where the cars couldn't get to 436 00:29:11,720 --> 00:29:17,720 to take food and to take water and to take medicine to those in need. 437 00:29:17,720 --> 00:29:22,720 I even saw one story of someone who was on the other side of the river. 438 00:29:22,720 --> 00:29:29,720 The bridge was washed out and that person needed some more insulin for their diabetes. 439 00:29:29,720 --> 00:29:33,720 And so the person got a drone, you know, a little drone 440 00:29:33,720 --> 00:29:36,720 and hooked the insulin on the bottom side of it 441 00:29:36,720 --> 00:29:42,720 and flew the insulin over the river to the person that needed the medicine 442 00:29:42,720 --> 00:29:48,720 to be healthy, to be safe, to be alive. 443 00:29:48,720 --> 00:29:53,720 They're doing whatever it takes to get to those in need. 444 00:29:53,720 --> 00:29:56,720 One of our church family, Mike Gray, is here sometimes. 445 00:29:56,720 --> 00:30:00,720 Going today with a group of students from Southern to join in 446 00:30:00,720 --> 00:30:04,720 and helping meet needs there, whatever it takes. 447 00:30:04,720 --> 00:30:12,720 And so we as Christians, we as a church, we can do whatever it takes. 448 00:30:12,720 --> 00:30:19,720 And so this week, this Thursday, it is an opportunity, it is an option 449 00:30:19,720 --> 00:30:25,720 that we can continue to pray for those who are getting flyers or seeing things online 450 00:30:25,720 --> 00:30:29,720 and hopefully you'll plan to join us, you'll plan to attend. 451 00:30:29,720 --> 00:30:32,720 And hopefully as you come, you'll tell somebody else, 452 00:30:32,720 --> 00:30:36,720 come sit by me, let me pick you up, let me bring you 453 00:30:36,720 --> 00:30:44,720 because we can do whatever it takes to point someone to a saving relationship with Jesus. 454 00:30:44,720 --> 00:30:50,720 That's what we have experienced and that's what we want to share with somebody else. 455 00:30:50,720 --> 00:30:51,720 What's about our heads? 456 00:30:51,720 --> 00:30:55,720 Dear God, thank you for each one of us here. 457 00:30:55,720 --> 00:31:01,720 And Lord, if there's somebody here who has not experienced that saving relationship with you, 458 00:31:01,720 --> 00:31:04,720 Lord, open up their heart right now and let them just say, 459 00:31:04,720 --> 00:31:08,720 Lord, I love you, Lord, I want to serve you, Lord, I want to follow you. 460 00:31:08,720 --> 00:31:15,720 And Lord, as we look ahead to this week, we just want to pray for our Forecasting Hope series 461 00:31:15,720 --> 00:31:21,720 that we'll meet some new people of these seven out of ten people who aren't religious 462 00:31:21,720 --> 00:31:26,720 and I will be able to interact with them and invite them to know their Savior, 463 00:31:26,720 --> 00:31:29,720 to know their Creator, to know their coming King 464 00:31:29,720 --> 00:31:32,720 and just guide us and bless us in all that we do. 465 00:31:32,720 --> 00:31:46,720 In your name we pray, Amen.