Let It Down

Luke 5:4-5

If you want a good catch, you have to let down your nets. There are times when you have to put something down if you want to pick up something better.

Simon was tired and discouraged. He'd been working hard all night, trying to catch fish. All night, in the dark, he'd been straining at the oars, working up a sweat, pushing the boom and rudder, trimming the sail, pulling his nets. And all night long—despite all his labor—his nets were empty. He had nothing to show for his hard work.

Now it was morning, and all he wanted to do was to clean up and go home and sleep. But first he had to clean his nets. There were no fish in his nets, but he'd caught plenty of junk—sea weeds, sticks...maybe a few beer cans.

Anyway, Simon had to clean his nets, mend the nets that had torn, and then roll them up and pack them away so they'd be ready for the next outing. While Simon fixed up his nets, Jesus borrowed Simon's boat and sat in it while he taught the people.

I find it interesting that Luke doesn't tell us what Jesus taught that day. Not a word. Don't you wish you could have heard what Jesus said? Did he tell them stories? Maybe he gave them moral or ethical teachings, like he did in the sermon on the mount. The Gospels record many of Jesus' words, but in this story Luke doesn't give us a hint—not one clue—of what Jesus taught from the boat.

Instead, Luke skips over Jesus' teaching and goes right to the end. He tells us what happened after the message was finished.

It's almost as though the sermon isn't the main thing. And guess what? Usually, it isn't! What happens to you is more important than words said to you! People can hear a lot of sermons and never be changed. It's as though the words go in one ear and out the other—but never touch the heart while passing through.

However, when people truly encounter God...or experience a miracle...or are set free—that's something worth writing home about. That's the main thing! You see, information is good, but transformation is better! Faith is good, but it's the action that follows that proves faith is the real deal.

The Bible says, "...don't just listen to God's word. You must do what it says." [James 1:22, NLT]).

So Luke doesn't write down what Jesus said; instead he writes down what Jesus did.

Just as Simon finished cleaning, patching, and packing his nets up for the day, Jesus said to him, "Simon, take your nets out again. Go out to the deep water and let down your nets for a catch."

I imagine Simon rolling his eyes and sighing. "What are you talking about? I just finished cleaning and mending these nets! I'm tired. I'm worn out. I don't want to have to clean them all over again. Why would you ask me to take them out and drag them through the water all over again?"

But it was more than just having to redo the work of all the cleaning and mending. Simon didn't think there was any point to it. He didn't expect to catch any fish. "Master!" he said. "We've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything." It would be an exercise in futility.

I can identify with how Simon must have felt. When you're tired, worn out, and discouraged, you're not too motivated to do something that's sure to fail. What's the use? What's the point?

Simon wasn't too excited about messing up his nets again. And he was pretty dubious one more try would get him any fish. But Simon had respect for Jesus. "Because you say so, I'll give it a shot."

I want you to notice something here! Simon had a choice to make—just like we have choices. When it comes to daring to do something in God's kingdom, remember...

1. We have choices!

Jesus was on the verge of releasing a miracle in Simon's life, but he left the decision up to Simon: Would he obey the Lord? Or would Simon do what he wanted to do?

I wonder how many times God is on the verge of releasing a miracle in our lives, but he leaves the decision up to us. I wonder how many times we miss out on the miracle God intended because we go with what we feel instead of what God says. Because we choose what we think is right instead of trusting in the Lord. I wonder what might happen if we would begin to act more like Simon and say, "Well, I don't feel like it. I'm tired and worn out. But because you say so, I'll give it a shot."

There are times when we have to put something down in order to receive God's miracle. You see, Simon had to lay a few things down before God could work the miracle in his life:

1.     Simon had to let down his freshly cleaned nets and allow them to get dirty and clogged and torn all over again;

2.     Simon had to put aside his own weariness after fishing all night;

3.     Simon had to put down his skepticism and doubt—to do something that didn't make any sense;

4.     Simon had to let go of his lack of success—his failure to catch anything the night before.

It's the same way with us! There are times when you have to let down your nets if you're going to make a catch. Simon had to put down his objections. He had to let go of his excuses. He had to forget about his lack of success the previous night.

e have a choice: keep holding on to our stuff—and miss God's miracle.

Or put it down and let go of certain things so we can receive God's miracle—his new work in our lives.

There are times when you have to put down your stuff so you can pick up God's stuff. Put down your junk so you can receive God's miracle.

Sometimes we allow bad experiences in our past to limit our future. We allow our failures and frustrations to paralyze us with doubt and unbelief. We didn't catch anything before—so we don't even want to try again!

We can get stuck in the past. Mired down in negative thinking. Trapped by sin, slaves to our old ways...old habits...old attitudes. If you remember the past more than you believe for the future, you may be limiting God's work—you may be cutting off the flow of miracles in your life.

David wrote in the Psalms: "I sink in the miry depths, where there is no foothold..." (Ps 69:2);
"I'm in over my head, Quicksand under me, swamp water over me; I'm going down for the third time." (Message)

If you're going down for the third time and someone throws you a rope—a lifeline—I'd recommend that you grab it. And if your hands are full of things you've been hanging on to, you're going to have to let go of those things so you can grab hold of the rope!

Sometimes we hang on to things we shouldn't be hanging on to. When we hang on to things we need to let go of, then there's no way for us to pick up the things we need to pick up.

Did you see the news story this week about the family in Tel Aviv that has been spending all their time at the dump, picking through the junk? All because a woman decided to give her elderly mother a surprise gift—a new mattress. After all, the old mattress was ratty, old, and lumpy. Who wouldn't want it replaced? Turns out, her mother didn't want it replaced.
Turns out the lumps in the old mattress were money—over $1 million. She had been stashing her life savings in the mattress! When she told her daughter what she had done, they rushed to the landfill—the dump where 2,500 tons of trash arrive everyday—and started looking. She rode three garbage trucks to different dumps and kept looking. And still she couldn't find it.
When the news got out, others joined in the hunt—we hope to help the family and not to help themselves. [http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/06/10/1958903.aspx]
Have you ever allowed God's treasures to be buried by the trash in your life? God wants us to find his miracle, but we've got too much of our own stuff covering it up and crowding it out! And that leads us to our second point...

2. Hands full of the wrong things have no room to hold the right things!

When harmful things or bad things take up too much room in our hands...in our hearts...in our heads, there's no room to receive God's good things.

As long as we hold on to our past failures...as long as we beat ourselves up for our mistakes...as long as we carry around the weight and the consequences of old sins, we won't be able to catch hold of the things God wants to do in our lives.

Jesus says, "Put all those things down so you can receive your miracle catch."

As long as we define ourselves by our previous experiences, we'll think we can't do any better: "That's just not me. I could never do that...never be that. I know my history. I know who I am. I know my background. I know my place..."

Maybe you're defining yourself by your parents. Or by your upbringing. Maybe you hear echoes in your head of all the put-downs and insults you endured while you were growing up.

Maybe you were teased on the playground. Maybe you were always chosen last for the teams. Or worse, maybe some insensitive teacher, in a misguided attempt to motivate you, made some disparaging remark that has stuck with you to this day, rattling around inside your heart.

Maybe you were ridiculed in your own home. Maybe you were verbally abused by a step-parent. Maybe you suffered silently while others got all the breaks. It wasn't fair! And in the place where you should have been the most safe, you were the most vulnerable.

It's easy to be hang on to the past—the put-downs and insults, the humiliations, the mistakes and failures.

But Jesus wants us to put them down. Surrender your bad stuff, your spiritual junk, your sins. Jesus gives us a choice. He says, "Put them down so you can receive your miracle."

As long as you hold on to your nets, you're never going to catch any fish. As long as your hands are full of the wrong things, you're never going to have room to hold the right things.

But it isn't just harmful or bad things that we need to put down. Some of you may be limiting God in the opposite way—you're holding on to too many good things that restrict God's work. You've also got to put down your good stuff  to receive God's miracle. Which leads us to our final point...

3. Holding on to good things can prevent us from receiving better things.

Sometimes our own talents and abilities get in the way of God working in us. We think we can handle things on our own. We're proud to be independent. We're proud to be in control of our lives. We've conquered our past. We aren't burdened any longer by bad habits. We've made good progress on our spiritual journey.

As the Israelites prepared to enter the Promised land, Moses warned them to not forget what God had done.

Deuteronomy 8:12-14

Deuteronomy 8:17-18

When we think we've got the world by the tail, we'd better be careful. When we've worked to climb to the top, we'd better check our attitude. When we want to congratulate ourselves for all we've accomplished, we're in a dangerous place. The Bible says:

1 Corinthians 10:12

So it's not just bad things we need to put down. Sometimes it's good things.

Suppose Simon had caught a lot of fish the night before. Suppose he had been wildly successful, it would have been just as difficult for him to obey Jesus. Maybe even more. He wouldn't have felt any need for more fish. He would have been satisfied. Once again, taking out his clean nets and going out for another catch would have seemed pointless. "I'm a pretty good fisherman. I can do quite a bit on my own, so thanks all the same, but I don't really need a miracle."

We are strong-willed, independent people. We have to deal with our pride.

Simon had to put down his pride in order to receive the miracle catch. He was the expert fisherman. He was the one who earned his living as a commercial fisherman. And now here was Jesus, a carpenter—a carpenter!—telling him to try again. Simon had to swallow his pride—to admit that he had caught nothing after fishing all night, to admit that the expert had failed. He had to put down his pride so he would be willing to trust the Carpenter.

Maybe you've been so independent that God has a hard time doing anything in your life. Maybe your problem is your past successes more than past failures. Maybe you're holding on to past accomplishments and great achievements. Maybe you can't receive God's miraculous catch because your hands are too full of yourself.

If your past failures aren't holding you back, maybe your past successes are!

Simon had to put down his pride—and so do we. We need to lay aside our successes, our accomplishments, our victories. We need to put them down so God can use us in a different way, a better way.

Challenge: Let down your nets. Put down your past (failures and successes). Give God room to work a miracle in your life. Put these things down, so you can grab hold of God's miraculous catch. Don't be held back by the past. Don't limit God with self-reliance or pride.

Closing:

If in the past you've succeeded at doing your own thing, I dare you to let God do his thing.

If in the past you've failed, I dare you to try again. If you're tired and discouraged... if you've been working up a sweat, fishing all night... if you've been trying your best and haven't caught a thing. If you feel like a failure, and nothing is working...

Jesus says, "C'mon! Put it down. Let go of your past. Let go of your mistakes and failures. Let go of your sin. Let go of your best efforts. Put it down. Put it all down. Follow me, and I'll help you find what you've really been looking for. Listen to me, and I'll turn your life around. Do what I say, and I'll fill you up to overflowing."