FINDING NEW PURPOSE

Finding new purpose.

A lot of adults do not have a purpose or direction for their life.
    – Some move from job to job and never find fulfillment.
    – Some try to get more, new, and better things, but still feel empty.

Note:
For believers, being a part and feeling you are a part
of God’s ministry, can give purpose to our lives.

Question:
What was the purpose for Jesus?

LUKE 4:

VERSES 42-44:

Luke 4:31-41  – Jesus had been teaching
                           and healing the sick on the Sabbath.
Note:
    Since the Sabbath ended at nightfall, people could be
    healed without breaking the rule against healing on that day.

Jesus showed great patience and compassion
toward the crowds of sick people and their families.
He didn’t consider their relentless pursuit of Him as an intrusion.

“tried to keep Him from leaving them”
    – What a contrast to how He was treated in
       His hometown of Nazareth (Luke 4:29).

Note:
Some of the people may have thought His purpose was to heal the sick.

“I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God”
     – His purpose in life was to preach the good news
        (not healing the sick).

“to the other towns also”
    – His ministry was not limited to one area.
      Note:
         This may be another reason He came in human
         form – to show us how to participate in God’s
         ministry (without being omnipresent).

“kingdom of God”
    – In the bible, this usually refers to the rule of someone
       (rather than control of a territory).

    – It was presented as a present reality
       (Luke 22:24-29, 16:16, 17:20-21).

    – It was also presented as a future hope
       (Luke 11:2, 13:22-30, 22:16-18).

    – In the present, it is the reign of God in the heart of believers.

    – Each person can enter God’s kingdom
       by allowing Him to rule in their life.

    – When we become citizens of His kingdom,
       we are to live by God’s standards, and to
       continue the work of Jesus (sharing the good news).

Jesus continued His purpose as He kept on preaching.
Question:
    Do you think He would be teaching if He didn’t enjoy it?
Question:
    If He did enjoy it, why did He enjoy it?

Summary:
    – Christ cares for us and meets our needs.
    – His purpose includes
       preaching the kingdom of God to all people.
    – We can be in the kingdom of God while we live
       (when we let Him rule our life).

LUKE 5:

VERSES 1-3:

“Lake of Gennesaret” (gih-NESS-uh-ret)
    – 13 miles long and 8 miles wide.

    – Fish was a major food of the area.

    – The fishing industry flourished because
       there was no other freshwater lake in the area.

    – Simon and his brother (Andrew) were commercial fishermen,
       along with their partners, James and John (another set of brothers).

    – Each family had its own boat,

On this particular day, the people crowded around Jesus.
Question:
    Why?
         – They were listening to the Word of God.
        Note:
            This shows the hunger the people had
             for hearing God’s message.
        Question;
             Where do we stand on our hunger for His Word?
        Note:
              It also shows that the popularity of Jesus
              was not just a result of His ability to heal.

Note:
    His popularity with the common people continued,
    but the religious leaders became more critical of Him.
Question:
    Wonder why?
         – Jealousy?
         – His preaching did not follow
            a lot of their man-made rules and laws?

As the crowd grew, Jesus got into a boat
and taught the people who remained on shore.
Question:
    How did this help His teaching?
         – He could face all the people at once (without turning around).
         – His voice could carry well over the water.

Note:
    Since He didn’t ask, but just got in the boat
    and then asked him to move it away from
    the shore, He probably knew Simon already.

Question:
    Where was Simon while Jesus got in the boat?
          – Washing his nets.
Question:
    What does that imply?
         – He had finished fishing.
        Note:
            Since they fished mostly at night, he was probably
            tired and wanted to go home and sleep.

Simon:
    – A commercial, not a recreational fisherman.
    – Earned a living for himself and his family by fishing.
    – He wasn’t lazy, but worked hard (and long hours).
    – The product of his work was something that helped other people.
    – There may have been no other income for his family.
     – Jesus gave him an opportunity
       to share the major tool of his trade (with Jesus).
    – Although he was probably tired and maybe hungry,
       he must have been glad that Jesus could use
       something of his to share the Word of God.
    – Later in life, Simon (Peter) experienced the joy
       of speaking God’s Word to many people.
    – Letting Jesus use his boat was a step in that direction.
    – Later, Jesus used Simon’s special God-given gift.

Question:
    How do you think other believers would feel if they were Simon?

Question:
    Would all believers gladly let Jesus use their boats
    (or other possessions)?

Question;
    What resource is the Lord asking us
    to let Him use in sharing His Word?
Question:
    Are we allowing Him to use our resources?
Question:
    Do we have a spiritual gift
    that we are not using (or trying to develop)?

Summary:
    – People are hungry for the Word of God.
    – Jesus can use hard workers who help others,
       and meet personal and family needs.
    – Jesus calls all believers to let Him use
      what we have to share the good news.
    – Jesus is ready and willing to help us use our resources to serve Him.

VERSES 4-7:

After He finished teaching, He gave Simon
some interesting instructions:

“Put out into deep water”
(they were still too close to shore to fish).
Question:
    Wonder what Simon was thinking?
         – I guess He wants to get away from the crowd.
         – I’m tired and sleepy; I just want to go home.
        Note:
            Regardless of what he may have been thinking, apparently
            he obeyed the Lord’s request to use his resources.

“Let down the nets for a catch”
Question:
    Now what was Simon thinking?
         – We just finished cleaning our nets.
         – I’m a commercial fisherman, this will not work.
        Note:
            We get a hint at one of his thoughts by what he said.
                 – We make a living fishing and we have just finished
                    fishing the best spots during prime time and caught
                    nothing. If we didn’t catch any at night, we certainly
                    won’t catch any during the day.

Question:
    What emotion would best describe Simon?
         – Surprise, doubt, frustration, etc.
         Note:
             Again he obeyed the Lord in using his resources.

Note:
    Clarence Darrow, a great criminal lawyer in the past,
    said his favorite Bible verse is Luke 5:5
    (we have worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything).
    He said that sums up the way he feels about life,
    in spite of his successes.
    Note:
        Even though he was known as an atheist, agnostic, etc,
        he did make an interesting point.
             – Many people exist and go through life
                without any real purpose for living.

             – Some say that the point of life is, there is no point.

            – Some compare living to riding a merry-go-round:
            – You get on, go round and round,
               and get off where you got on.

Note:
    Simon’s lack of success during the night is a reminder
    to us that all work has times of failure and disappointment.
    He was an experienced commercial fisherman,
    but still had a night of failure.
    Question:
        Do you think he had other nights like this before?
        Question:
             If so, did it make him give up?

Note:
    Although he was reluctant, he followed the Lord’s instructions.
Note:
    We may feel the Lord leading us in a direction that doesn’t make
    sense, but like Simon, we need to follow and obey His instructions.

We see a great example of the types of results possible
when we follow the Lord’s guidance.

At best, Simon might have thought,
“We might catch a few fish by accident, but what’s the point?”,
but he probably never expected the abundance
of his blessings for being obedient.

Note:
    When we obey His leading,
    we could also experience abundant blessings.
    (could be financial, health, relationships, jobs,
    or any other area of life).

Look at the progression of Simon’s blessings:
    1. He caught fish.
    2. The nets filled up.
    3. They were so full they started to break.
    4. Their partners brought more nets
         to help distribute the strain on the nets.
    5. They filled their boat with fish past its capacity.
    6. They had so many fish that the overflow
         also exceeded the capacity of their partners’ boat.

Note:
    Research, and the discovery of relics,
    has determined the size of these boats:
        – 25.5 feet long and 7.5 feet wide (that’s a lot of fish)

Question:
    What were the fishermen thinking during all this activity?
    Where was their focus?
         – They were probably focused on God’s blessing itself.
         – They probably weren’t thinking of the previous night’s failure.

Question:
    The boats began to sink – what kept them from sinking?
        – Jesus kept the boat afloat?
        – They rushed the boats to shore?

Question:
    What is the message to us?
        – When we obey the Lord, we may be blessed
           to a point where we have new challenges.

Summary:
    – Jesus may lead us to do things we are reluctant to do
       (which are out of our comfort zone).
    – He may lead us in directions that we are reluctant to go.
    – At times, we may forget that He is Lord over all things.
    – Some people feel their lives
       are not accomplishing anything of lasting value.
    – When we trust and obey the Lord, He is able
       to do some amazing things (including abundant blessings
       which we could never expect or imagine).

VERSES 8-11:

When Simon and the others saw what had happened,
they were astonished.
    – Astonished to see the fish caught during the day.
    – Astonished at the amount of fish caught (probably
       more than they had ever caught on their best night).

As Simon realized what had taken place,
he knew he was in the presence of the Lord.
    – He fell down at the feet of Jesus
       (a posture of respect and worship).

    – He asked the Lord to leave him.
    – They were still out at sea, so He couldn’t leave,
       but because Simon knew Jesus was Lord, he
       knew He certainly had the capability of leaving.
       Note:
           This could be why he had no problem later on,
           believing that Jesus was walking on water.

    – He admitted he was a sinful man.
    – When comparing himself to other men,
       Simon may have felt pretty good
       about himself (hard worker, honest living, etc.).

    – When comparing himself to Jesus, he knew he was
       a sinner, and in fact, his sinfulness was magnified.

    Note:
        Even though Simon wanted the Lord to leave,
        Jesus did not want to leave.
       Simon’s feelings of sinfulness and unworthiness
       opened the door for Christ’s call.
    Note:
    Salvation could be described as God accepting the
    unacceptable (whenever they confess they are unacceptable).
    Note:
        The Lord’s call to service is similar:
            – We are all unworthy.
            – When we admit we are unworthy,
               we are accepted by the Lord.
            – When we are accepted, we become usable.
            – When we are usable, the Lord will lead us into service.
            – When we follow His leading, we experience a new life.
               (a life of service, with blessings beyond our expectations).

“don’t be afraid”
    – An important comment from Jesus
       (since being in the presence of God
       meant certain death in those days).
       Note:
           This shows that Jesus knew Simon realized
           he was in the presence of the Lord.

    – Jesus probably wanted to eliminate the distraction
      of being afraid, so that Simon could focus completely
      on what Jesus was about to say to him.

“you will catch men”
    – Jesus talked about service in terms Simon was familiar with.

The result of all that had happened:
    Four men found a new purpose for their lives.
    Note:
        Although Jesus called these men to be apostles,
        He could have called them to share in His ministry
        while they continued their work as fishermen.

Note:
    We have no idea how He will call is to serve, but if we are
     true believers, we can expect to be called to service in some way.
    When we are called, we have to make a choice:
         – Heed His call and receive blessings
            and a new purpose in life.
         – Disregard the call and miss out on what He has for us.

Summary:
    – Awareness of God’s holiness convicts people
       of their sinfulness and unworthiness.
    – Christ accepts those who confess they are unacceptable.
    – Christ not only forgives,
       but He also entrusts the forgiven to serve Him.
    – Christ calls some to full-time Christian vocations,
       but He calls all believers to serve Him in some capacity.

Questions we can ask ourselves:
    – What gives me a sense of purpose for my existence?
    – In what ways am I sharing the good news with others?
    – Does my life draw people to the Lord,
       or does it lead/drive them away?
    – What sacrifices do I make in order to serve Him?
    – Am I aware of where/how He wants me to serve Him?
    – Am I willing to sacrifice my selfishness and serve Him?
    – Will I continue to justify reasons for not serving Him,
       or will I embrace His calling as a blessing in my life.