TPC Connections

Sermon Notes

When Jesus Gets Into Your Boat!

10/11/26

Luke 5:1-11 “So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, 2 and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. 3 Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat.

4 When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”

5 But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; yet at Your word I will let down the net.” 6 And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. 7 So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. 8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!

9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; 10 and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.” 11 So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.”

_______________

What I want to speak on today dovetails perfectly with our “Get In The Game” series we just ended.

–It’s about putting feet to your faith to do good works, –to step out,

–to get involved in what God is doing,

–and to stretch your faith.

The story in our text is like a book with a beginning, a middle, and a final chapter.

We’re going to see that it reveals a progression of how God moves in our own lives incrementally, in stages.

The book begins with:

Jesus got into Peter’s boat

Peter, Andrew, James, and John had just come in from a long night of fishing,

mending their nets

and getting ready to head home,

a lone young man of around 30 walks up and steps into Peter’s boat.

Peter likely recognized him as the same man that had healed his mother-in-law just days before—His name was Jesus.

Peter had no idea that his life was about to be radically and permanently changed.

–it was the defining moment of his life,

–it began a lifelong journey,

–the unfolding of his destiny,

Things would never be the same.

It is worth considering that, of the upward of 4,000+ boats around the Sea of Galilee, Jesus got into Peter’s.

He knew where his chosen man was!

And likewise, God knows where you are and He knows how to find you!

The boat represented Peter’s life, his livelihood, all he had ever known.

And it illustrates your life and mine.

Everyone listening to me this very moment are in one of two categories—Jesus is either in your boat or He’s not.

You have either been saved by turning to him by faith, after which Jesus ‘got into your boat.’

Or you have never called on him to forgive your sins so that he is not in your life, or ‘in your boat.’

So the most important question from the first chapter is—Is Jesus in your boat?

_____________

Then the next chapter in the story is:

1. Peter’s time in the shallows

Jesus had gotten into the boat so that he could teach the multitudes of people pressing to hear him.

Once he was in Peter’s boat and they shoved out a little from the shore, Jesus began teaching—with Peter sitting next to him with a ringside seat!

Scripture suggests the teaching went on for hours.

Though he was dead-dog tired from fishing all night, Peter became captivated by the words that flowed from Jesus.

The hours raced by like minutes.

And all this took place in the safe and secure shallows—in knee-deep water just a few yards from the shore.

______________

Now, figuratively speaking, we all begin our Christian walk in the shallows.

–we have shallow understanding of the Scriptures,

–of God,

–of the Christian life,

–and of our own calling and purpose.

And just as Peter did, we eagerly soak in the teachings of Jesus.

1 Pet. 2:2 “as newborn babes, earnestly desire (crave) the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby.”

_______________

But here’s the thing–Jesus didn’t leave Peter in the shallows!

And we’re not called to STAY in the shallows either!

Heb 6:1 “Let us go forward, then, to mature teaching and leave behind us the first lessons of the Christian message.”

The operative words are, “Let us go forward…”

But unfortunately—Too many Christians stay in the shallows of life and stagnate.

I admit, when I go to the ocean I like the shallows.

There’s SAFETY in the shallows!

you can still see the bottom,

you can stand on it,

and the safety of the shore is only a few steps away.

______________

And there’s also FAMILIARITY in the shallows!

things don’t change much in the shallows.

There’s a routine,

predictability,

few surprises.

We like that!

______________

And It’s also COMFORTABLE in the shallows.

It doesn’t require paddling or swimming to stay afloat.

The shallows don’t demand much from us like the deep waters do—It’s easier, less taxing, less stressful.

Bottom line—It’s easy to get stuck in the shallows!

In our case:

–in the shallows of the comfort of the pews,

–in the predictability of three hymns and a nice, shallow sermon,

–the shallows of familiar surroundings,

–with the same people,

–and the same routines,

–in the same building,

–in the same town…and so on.

I believe that many Christians want more from their faith but they keep standing in the same shallow water, wondering why nothing changes.

The problem is not that people START in the shallows.

The problem is that they choose to STAY there!

But Jesus would not allow Peter to sit in the shallows for very long.

_______________

Soon came the words that lead to the final chapter of the story–Jesus said:

III. Launch out into the deep!

Now, notice how Peter has been quiet before now.

We haven’t heard a peep from him all those hours Jesus was teaching.

But when Jesus says, “Launch out into the deep,” he REACTS—unleashing a cry of protest along with a good EXCUSE for not going:

“We fished all night and caught nothing!”

He was tired from pulling the midnight shift on the sea, and discouraged over getting skunked.

Yet Jesus wasn’t making a suggestion—it was a COMMAND!

“Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a catch.”

________________

Tired and discouraged, Peter didn’t want to go to the deep, and many times our flesh doesn’t like it either.

Because the deep is risky, it’s where the sharks are!

It’s where the giant waves roll!

In the deep you can’t see or touch the safety of the bottom.

The flesh fights the risk of the deep because the flesh wants to see where everything is going,

it wants to be in control,

it wants to reason it all out and understand everything.

–But the deep is the realm of miracles,

–the deep is where the big fish are,

–the deep is where the great harvest is!

_______________

Now, we see that Peter’s protest started WRONG,

but ended RIGHT with one key word—YET.

“Yet, at Your word I will let down the net.”

Peter’s entire destiny swung on the hinge of that one, solitary YET!

–YET was uttered at a fork in the road that set his path for the rest of his life!

“YET, Lord, because you say so I will launch out—I will do it.”

So Peter launched out.

He headed for the deep blue water where he had been just the night before.

And he let down his net into that very same water that had yielded nothing just hours before.

And suddenly there was a mighty tug that almost pulled him overboard.

He could barely hang onto the massive number of fish that had filled his net!

In fact, the net was breaking so that they had to,

“shout for help to their partners in the other boat, and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking.”–vs.7

_____________

The smartest thing Peter ever did was say the word YET to Jesus.

Smartest thing you can do, too!

Because YET meant—Jesus’s command carries more weight than my own desires!

I may not fully understand the command,

it may not make sense,

it might fly in the face of my own experience,

but it’s not just anybody commanding me, it’s the Son of God!

______________

God is calling many of you today to launch into the deep.

I believe he’s calling TP to launch into the deep.

–The deep may mean to deepen your prayer life.

–Or it may be to step out into a level of ministry or christian service you’ve never known.

It may be a call out of the shallows into the deep of:

–earning a degree,

–or writing a book,

–or studying your Bible on a level you’ve never undertaken.

The deep can be a lot of things, but—It is always that place where only faith can take you.

It is that place where you must trust God MORE, and trust yourself LESS.

The deep requires courageous faith and total trust in the Lord.

_______________

I love what comes next—When Peter saw the huge catch of fish, it says he was ASTONISHED at the result.

Ask yourself: When was the last time you were astonished at something God did in your life?”

You may be toiling, but are you ASTONISHED?

________________

Let me tell you, it is ASTONISHING when:

In the deep you see people rescued from the depths of darkness!

Or people silently sinking into the depths of despair saved!

Or broken people going down for the last time mightily delivered!

You see, it’s out there in the deep water where fearful,

and suffering, and desperate people are reached for the glory of God!

And that’s ASTONISHING!

________________

When Peter, Andrew, James and John witnessed this mighty miracle of fish, they left everything to follow Jesus the rest of their days.

And it all began with Jesus getting into Peter’s boat!

Is Jesus in your boat?

Have you been hesitant to launch out into the deep?