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Welcome to this course on Discovering God's will! Together we will explore the topic of our 'gifts and calling'
and be encouraged as we see God's unique design for our lives and learn how we can serve Him better.
Our gifts and calling are central elements of our uniqueness as people. Our gifts are the specific, Spirit-given
abilites that enable us to contribute to the wider good of hte community and world. Our calling is the task or area
of service where God directs to use those gifts.
 Luke 5:1-11
This passage is from the beginning of Jesus' ministry and focuses on the calling of his first disciples. Notice
the fishermen's response to Jesus' odd request.
1One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, [a]with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God, 2he saw
at the water's edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. 3He
got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and
taught the people from the boat.
4When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into deep water,
and let down[b] the nets for a catch."
5Simon answered, "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything.
But because you say so, I will let down the nets."
6When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their
nets began to break. 7So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and
help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.
8When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, "Go away from
me, Lord; I am a sinful man!" 9For he and all his companions were astonished at the
catch of fish they had taken, 10and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon's
partners.
Then Jesus said to Simon, "Don't be afraid; from now on you will catch men." 11So
they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him. (Luke
5:1-11 NIV)
All four of these fishermen had probably at least seen Jesus around and were familiar with who he was. When the
crowd began to press too close, Jesus asked Simon to take him out a little way in his boat. Sound travels well over
water, and this way the people in the back of the crowd had better chance of hearing. Simon made no objection to lending his
boat, but he couldn't help protesting when Jesus asked him to do a seemingly silly thing. Nevertheless, he agreed to
do it anyway, and their fruitless night was suddenly recouped. It must have been startling to say the least. In
the other gospel accounts, Jesus specifically says "follow me," but Luke does not mention this. Instead, he focuses
on Simon's realization of his own sinfulness and on Jesus' rather unusual response: "Don't be afraid....from now
on you will be catching people!"
From any normal prospective, Jesus' command in verse 4-5 was absolutely foolish since mid-morning was not the time fish
would be feeding. To get the feeling behind the words in verse 5, one must picture tired and hungry men who have worked
all night suddenly wondering why int he world they should listen to a religious teacher when it comes to their fishing business!
Still, Peter decides to go along with him and is rewarded for it.
To contrast Simon's doubt, Luke underscores the magnitude of the catch. It was so large that it tore the nets and
threatened to sink Simon's boat as well as that of his partners! (v 6-7)
Peter's fear and confession before JEsus is similar to that of people in the Old Testament when they encountered the
divine (Isaiah 6:5; Danial 10:15) In particular, as with Isaiah, encountering divine power caused Peter to focus on
his awareness of his own sinfulness. Then, as with Peter, GOd gave Isaiah a mission (Isaiah 6:8).
(v 8)
DON'T BE AFRAID Jesus' words echo those of the divine response seen in Isaiah 6, Danial 10, and elsewhere.
You will be catching people! The climax of the story is not JEsus' self-revelation, but its signigicance
as a graphic illustration ot the certain widespread success that would accompany Peter's (and the other apostles') mission
of preaching the kingdom of God. While fish are caught to their own detriment, people are 'caught' for their own benefit
- that they might realize the fullness of God's love and forgiveness.
they... left everything and followed Him. A loyalty to Jesus that takes precedence over anything
else in life is Luke's characteristic way of describing what it means to be a follower of Christ.
Think about it:
When did you first hear the "call" sto begin your spiritual journey? Did you respond right away?
What is Jesus referring to when he says that the fishermen will be "catching people"? What would this look like
in your life?
What does it mean today to leave everything and follow him? How close do you think you have come to doing this?
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