But this morning we're reading
from Luke chapter 5, 1 through 11, and you'll find our text
as we read, I am a sinful man, O Lord. We'll look at that. All right, here it is. And it
came to pass that as the people pressed upon him to hear the
word of God, that he stood by the lake of Gennesaret. And he
saw two ships standing by the lake. But the fishermen were
gone out of them, and they were washing their nets. And he entered
into one of the ships, which was Simon's, that's the apostle
Peter, and prayed unto him that he would thrust out a little
from the land. and he sat down and he taught
the people out of the ship. Now when he had left speaking,
he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep and let down your
nets for a draught or a catch. And Simon answering said unto
him, Master, we have toiled all night and have taken nothing. Nevertheless, at thy word, I
will let down the net." When they had this done, they enclosed
a great multitude of fishes, and their net broke. And they beckoned unto their
partners, which were in the other ship that they should come and
help them. And they came and they filled
both the ships so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw,
he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me, for I
am a sinful man, O Lord. For he was astonished and all
that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had
taken. And so was James and John, the
sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto
Simon, Fear not, for henceforth thou shalt catch men. When they brought their ships
to land, they forsook all and followed him. Look at verse 8
again. Depart from me, O Lord, for I
am a sinful man. When we read the scripture, we
find that this is just another of one of the many, many miracles
that our Lord worked during the course of His ministry. And this
particular work is known and described as the miraculous catch
of fishes, for it was beyond anything that they had ever imagined. It was beyond anything that they
had ever done or any that they'd ever caught before. And it became
another of the many signs and wonders and miracles that our
Lord did that confirmed Him that He was indeed sent from God. Acts chapter 2 and verse 22. And that these works bore witness
of him that he indeed was the Son of God, John chapter 5 and
verse 36. And though there were many there
who witnessed this great miracle and this cat, it seems as we
read the text that first and foremost this is intended for
the benefit of the Apostle Peter. Simon as he is called. We know that the Lord made a
pool pit out of Simon's boat in the fourth verse and then
we also notice in reading from this chapter that he directly
addresses Simon Peter and you'll find that in verse 4 and again
in verse 10. And the great catch, therefore,
is said to be a picture of Simon's ministry that was to come. For he was to become a fisher
of men. I will make thee a fisher of
men. He would catch men in the future
instead of catching fish. Now Simon, we learn, was to play
a very important role in the work of the Lord after the death,
resurrection, and ascension of the Lord again into heaven. You
have that in Matthew chapter 16 and verse 18 and 19. and that Matthew 26 and verse
40, and after the Lord was risen, the angel said unto the women
who came early unto the tomb, go and tell his disciples and
Peter. Go and tell them, and particularly
Peter, you will see the Lord who will go before you into Galilee. Now Peter in this is being groomed
for the ministry and the role that he was to play in the kingdom
of God after the going away of the Lord Jesus Christ. Peter
was to play a very important role in the Jerusalem church
and in the spread of the gospel. However, let's not go too far. There is no hint whatsoever in
the scripture that Peter was ever made a pope or that he ever
considered himself to be a pope, though I confess at times he
He acted like one when he contradicted the Lord Jesus Christ. So let's
set the scene of our text. It occurred on a lake or on a
sea after Simon and others, after a night of fishing, had come
back to the shore and they were washing and cleaning and mending
their nets. for the next trip out to fish. And the Lord got in Simon's boat,
had him push out a little way, and there the Lord sat, and he
taught the people who were within hearing of him there back upon
the shore, the subject we're not told what our Lord spoke
about on that occasion. Now, when he had done speaking,
when he had finished his sermon or his discourse unto them, He
speaks to Simon directly and personally. Launch out into the
deep. Let down your nets for a catch
into the deep. Go where the water is deeper. Launch out away, as it were,
from the shore. And the Lord promised him a catch
and promised him success in his fishing. Peter had mixed emotion
when he heard that command from our Lord. On the one hand, in
verse 5, he had let down his neck. He had already done that
and done it all night. They had toiled to the point
of exhaustion fishing in the night, and they had caught nothing.
They had no fish in the net, either to eat or to sell to others. They had nothing but an empty
net to show for their entire night of fishing and letting
down the net. But on the other hand, the apostle
Peter respects Christ's words and said, though we've toiled
all night, we've caught nothing. Yet at your word, I will let
down the net into the water. Now, perhaps we can see a mixture
of doubt and of faith both rising up in the apostle. I've toiled
all night, I've caught nothing. I've labored all night. We've
cast the nets, we've dragged them. and nothing has come into
them but at your word and because you say so and because it is
the command of you on the credit of your word to let down the
net for The words imply, as the Puritan Thomas Goodwin said,
that Simon did it only on the credit of Christ's word. From
all outward appearances, no fish were to be caught or to be gained. at the word of our Lord, that
had one of his fellow fishermen suggested that unto him, had
one of them said, you know, let's give it another try. Let's cast
the net. Let's drag it one more time. Simon might not have done it,
at the credit of their word, and that perhaps for a couple
of reasons. Number one, their already failure
to catch something, though they had fished all night long. The
fatigue of their body, tired and weary from the night of labor
and of fishing, and we need rest. And so, in verse 6, they got
their nets so full that they were about to break. They were
breaking. They were bulging with the fullness
of the fish that were in them. And in verse 7, we read that
they called across to their partners in the fishing business and said,
come over and help us. And when they drew the net, it
filled the boat so much that it was as if it would sink into
the water. It was their greatest catch ever. They had never seen anything
like it. Now consider this by way of contrast. Here we have the same men, we
have the same boats, we have the very same net, and they're
in the same lake of water where they had fished all night. caught
nothing but by the direction and the command of the Lord a
very huge and profitable catch of fish and that in a very short
time this shows us something this shows our Lord's power over
all things that he has created including what we might call
a unintelligent creatures are being, that God has a sovereign
authority over them and may command them and they will obey his will. Who provided the great fish?
that swallowed up Jonah. The Lord prepared it and the
Lord sent it and appointed it at the right time. Who was it
that opened the mouth of Balaam's donkey and made him speak under
that disobedient prophet? Who was it that put the demons
in the herd of swine that they rushed down the bank in the water
and were destroyed? Even so, who was it that put
the fish in the net of Simon and his fellows on this particular
occasion. Now, who would deny that the
Lord God and Jesus Christ, who is very God and has all power
in heaven and in earth, That very same Lord that said, let
down your nets for a catch, He might have caused that the fish
come and leap into the boat of those men that were there in
the fishing. Otherwise, He might have commanded
them to flounce out upon the bank. And all they had to do
was to pick them up. It was at our Lord's divine discretion
and sovereignty how he would manifest unto them. Instead of
that, he puts them in their net, more in the natural way of catching
fish. And this was sufficient to make
the desired impression upon Simon and upon his fellow fishermen,
who knew well the skills of their trade. They were very skilled
at the art of fishing and had made a living at it for many
years. So now, let's come to Simon and
reflect upon the reaction of Simon to this obvious miracle. His nets empty by his endeavor,
but now so full that they can hardly draw them in or haul them
in the ship. The ship laden almost to the
point of sinking. And let's see how Simon responds
to what he saw with his own eyes that night. He's not endeavored
simply by the great catch of fish. He does not say, we're
rich, we're rich. He does not say, we have much
fish to sell. Let us take our ease for a while. Take a vacation. Go off and see
the world, nor does he say, Lord, my boat is about to sink and
to be lost, my livelihood is threatened. Help me, save me,
save my boat or we perish. Instead, Verse 8, when he saw,
when he saw those nets bulging with fish and the boats drawing
more water than was safe or comfortable, his reaction is amazing. His heart is not toward the fish
only. His thoughts are not upon the
loss of his nets or the loss of his boat. His concern is not
his own life or his very own safety. His reaction, on the
other hand, is very spiritual. both in what he did and then
in what he said. Let's notice, first of all, what
he did. He did not go and examine his
nets and say, oh my, the nets are ruined, oh my, the boat is
about to sink. No, what he did was he fell down
at the feet of the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, And in verse 3,
Jesus had been sitting, you remember, in the boat and teaching. And
Simon went and he knelt down on his knee before the Lord. He bows himself. He prostrates
himself there before the Lord Jesus Christ, assuming a posture
of worship and of adoration and humility, owning the Lord. superior and as divine and that
in a ship that appears to be on the verge of sinking but his
mind is upon the Lord who had worked this great thing in their
sight and to their benefit now as to what he said these are
some I think of the most amazing words that we might find in the
scripture, particularly in the New Testament. They're unusual.
We would not expect this from ourself or from another. Here's what he said, Depart from
me, O Lord, for I am a sinful man. Now, we might have expected
gushings of praise and thanksgiving and rejoicing and glee and such
like. Instead, a strange request. Depart from me, Lord. Go from me. And a startling confession,
for I am a sinful man. Leave me, Lord. Go, for I am
a sinful man. Now, let's see here. Excuse me. Let's see if we can get into
the mind of Simon. Let's see if we can get into
his mind a little bit. What moved him to do and to say
these things? What is the motivating factor? What brought this on? That Simon,
who loved the Lord, kneeled down before him and would then say,
Depart from me, Lord. I am a sinful man. Well, we read
in verse 9, if you look at it, that he was astonished. We'll look at that word in a
moment. All were astonished that saw it, all in the party and
perhaps those upon the bank. Linsky said that the word here,
astonished, actually contains the idea of being enclosed around
about or enveloped. Simon was in a state of ecstasy. He was held around by amazement. Could we say he was dumbfounded? He was stupefied. He was frozen
as if by surprise and by wonder at what had occurred and what
he had seen. It was more than he could take
in, more than he ever had expected, something that he had never seen
in his life before, never even thought about such a thing, thinking
only in the natural realm, draw the net and catch the fish. But
this was intended to make the deepest impression upon Simon
Peter. It was designed for his benefit
and for his purpose. But then the question comes under
our mind. Why Peter confesses himself a
sinful man? What brought that on? He'd been
with the Lord, he'd fellowshiped with Him, he'd learned from Him,
and believe what he had heard and what he had learned. Why
should he, and the correct thing is, blurt out, or I believe he
just blurted out such a thing. Could it be because of a part
of Simon's words as we look back that he said unto our Lord in
verse 5, kind of questioning the Lord, we've toiled all night
We fished again and again. We've caught nothing. Shall we
find success now? And did the question the likelihood
of success? Did Peter say, Lord, there's
no fish here. There's no fish here to be caught.
We've been after them all night. And he goes only because of the
words of our Lord, and that is a commendation of him. Is he
now smitten somehow with conviction? Had he even thought or said such
a thing that every word that proceeds out of the mouth of
Christ is true? And everything the Lord said
came to pass. It's not to be measured at the
bar of human reasoning. What our Lord commands is not
to be measured by the reasoning and the ability of men. It is
to be obeyed because the Lord said it. It's not to be weighed
by our efforts and by our failures that have come on us in the past.
And the question then comes to mind. What does Simon mean by
his confession, I am a sinful man, O Lord? Does he intend to
put himself in the class with unregenerate sinners, worldly
sinners? Does he speak from the standpoint
of one who is an unbeliever, an unconverted man, a man without
grace? Can that be the meaning of the
apostle, one with no interest in Christ? I am a sinful man. Or does he say this, in comparison
and in contrast unto Christ. Some thoughts glean from a work
I read called Contemplation by an old writer, Joseph Hall, born
in 1574 of our Lord. Simon was a skilled fisherman. and had seen many a catch, and
he immediately recognized that this was not owing to his skill. This was something beyond the
pale of the natural. This was something supernatural,
and it was the Lord that was the author of it. It was a miracle. It was not an ordinary catch
of fish, a miracle from our Lord. And so Joseph Hall wrote these
words, quote, he turns his eyes from the act to the author and
from the catch unto himself, unquote. He saw glory in the
Lord Jesus Christ. And then he saw the vileness
of himself and what a putrid man he is after all when viewed
in actuality. And that motivated him to utter
these words of Simon. We've already hinted, Simon is
not putting himself in the same category as a lost and worldly
sinner. as a called man and disciple
of Christ he is at this point in his life. He saw, he felt,
he knew himself to be a sinful man when all things were stripped
down. And at the hearing of the Lord
Jesus Christ, he and all of his fishing partners When they put
the two halves together, then we can understand the meaning
of the words of Peter. I am a sinful man, O Lord. By the way, compare the reaction
of this same man in John chapter 21, after he'd gone back to his
nets and his fishing, much the same circumstances. But moderns,
even people in the churches today might tend to diagnose the apostle
as suffering from some sort of a severe case of low self-esteem. This is the new national disease
that people are being diagnosed with for years to come. People,
they say, need to feel good about themselves and about their endeavor. They need to have high self-esteem
about themselves all the time. They need to have a high sense
of worth of themselves and their ability. And it's common today
to blame all kind of vileness and violence upon this low self-esteem. And I think it's sad that even
the churches have entered into a very adulterous affair with
modern psychology as a way to encourage people to have high
but false self-esteem about themselves and their worth and their ability. And I say that because the scripture,
if read and understood properly, will teach us that God will strip
away sinful pride and self-righteousness from an individual as he brings
him into grace and mercy. And he will put one, as we say,
in the dust of the earth. Don't come before the Lord with
your high self-righteousness and your great worth and ability
as though you are doing him a favor and are going to add glory unto
him. because the Lord will put you
in the dust. And I think this is true of first-time
penitents, that is, first-time converts, and also for seasoned
Christians like Simon and some others. For consider, if you
will, the publican in Luke chapter 18, verses 13 and 14. This old wicked man, a tax collector,
corrupt in their dealing as they overtaxed for the Roman government
and enriched themselves. And one day, a publican went
before the temple that he might pray. And the scripture paints
a humble picture of him. He stood afar off, being a publican. He did not enter in. He prays,
God, be merciful to me, a sinner. And actually, he used that word
that is translated, make reconciliation, in Hebrew chapter 2, Verse 17
and some say that it has the article God be merciful to me
the sinner and be merciful unto me He went to pray at the temple,
but being a publican a tax collector for Rome famous for their corruption
and deception as he prayed he was seized with a deep conviction
of his depravity of his personal wickedness and he confessed it
and And he prayed for mercy, standing there in the temple
yard. For remember, God resists the
proud and gives grace unto the humble. That's a lesson to be
learned. God resisteth the proud and he
gives grace unto the humble. People like the Pharisees, proud,
self-righteous. Lord, I've done this and that
and the other. Lord, I've never done this. I've never been an adulterer
or a thief or a murderer. God resists the proud like the
Pharisees, and he gives grace unto sinners like the publican. In Matthew 23 in verse 12, who so exalts himself shall be
abased. He that humbles himself shall
be exalted. I'm going to tell you that a
holy, holy God abhors pride and self-righteousness in those that
come before him. And he sees nothing good in a
child of Adam, nothing in them to commend him under God and
redemption whatsoever. Let me give you another example.
You all have heard of the prodigal son. In Luke chapter 15, remember,
he went away, he wasted his substance in riotous living, and the other
brother said, with harlot, and he came home, he came to himself,
and he came unto the father, neither expecting or demanding,
the father's favor, but he said in verse 21, Luke chapter 15,
I've sinned against heaven and in thy sight, and I'm no more
worthy to be called thy son. Having wasted the father's inheritance
in riotous living, he had sunk so low as to become a feeder
of pigs. or of swine. And he lived in
a famished land where he would have eaten the husks of the pigs. But this prodigal son was of
a better frame of mind than his self-righteous brother when he
got back home. There is a double fault with
the preaching and the theology of so many in our day. It affects
the way that they deal with sinners in this generation. and dictates
their view and is evident in their preaching. Two things. Number one, there's not much
sense of the holiness of God preached in our day. Few there
are who comprehend the full measure of the majestic attribute of
the holiness of God. So holy is God that none in their
natural state could see Him and could live. Not much preaching
today on His wrath and His holiness, His hatred and His anger of sin
is ignored. And the attribute of the love
of God is that that is put in the emphasis of our day. We hear
of the love of God as they talk of nothing but the love of God,
popularized by such men as D.L. Moody in our country, and Armenians,
and Unitarians. The only attribute many of them
emphasize is that of the love of God. And yet, I challenge
you. Search the scripture, read them
carefully, and you will see that neither Christ nor the apostles
went about telling gatherings of sinners that God loved them. If you read the Bible, check
it out, and you will see that Christ and the apostles did not
tell wicked men, God loves you and has a wonderful plan for
your life. But they preached the wrath of
God. They spoke of the anger and the wrath of God. Then secondly,
there is a strong sense. There is not, rather, a strong
sense of the sinfulness and of the depravity of the race preached
today. You hear little or nothing about
original sin, about the corruption of human nature, and that there
is none good, no, not one, not one righteous. Preachers no longer,
quote, cause Jerusalem to know her abomination, as was commanded
Ezekiel 16 and verse 2, Isaiah 58 and verse 1. Preachers today
don't speak much about sin and about depravity. They speak instead
of mistakes and of bad choices and of hurting people. But they
don't get to the bottom of it. that man is depraved. Human depravity
is very unpopular today, and so fearing the face of the people,
they don't preach it. It's an insult unto their hero. Human depravity is very unpopular. even in the churches of our day. May I tell you, only sinners
can be saved. Christ came to save sinners. Christ came not to seek the righteous,
but the lost, and the dying, and the sinful, and the wicked.
Only sinners can be saved. And each one saved ought to view
himself as the chief of sinners, applaud it, Do you think Paul
was a wicked man? Do you think Paul was a carnal
Christian? No. Devoted unto the Lord, consecrated
unto Him, but sang to Timothy. In 1 Timothy 1 and verse 15,
I am the chief of sinners. I think every Christian ought
to think that, confess that, and believe it. Every Christian
ought to view themselves as sinful and unworthy of the blessings
of God and of His grace, so that Peter's reaction was not an aberration. It was a normal response when
the mind is caught up in dwelling on the majestic God or upon our
failing. And in this the apostle has some
good company, as there ought to be a sense of sinfulness and
unworthiness in every child of God. Now, I know most don't believe
that. Most who call themselves Christian
today reject that, would be insulted by it, but it is the truth of
the Scripture. We've already considered the
publican and the prodigal son. Now remember the centurion, whose
beloved son or servant was sick and at the point of death, and
he sent to the Lord Jesus Christ for help, saying this, I am not
worthy for you to come under my roof. Matthew 8, 8, Luke 7,
and verse 6. Can you imagine that? I'm not
worthy for you to come under my roof, but say the word only
and my servant shall be well. Consider Abraham, going way back,
when in Genesis chapter 18, making intercession for Lot and for
Sodom, he said there in the 27th verse, I have taken upon me to
speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes. Not the Lord, but Abraham. Abraham
said I speak to God, but I'm but dust and ashes in reality
in the sight of God Abraham reckons himself to be that he assumes
the word of a mediator and an intercessor between God and men
a man Descendant of dust being permitted to speak with God my
what an honor is that John Gill said on that particular verse
I'm quoting His disproportion between the speaker and the one
spoken was infinite." In comparison to God, when he thought upon
God, saw God, knew God, then he thought of himself as no more
than dust and ashes. Who can forget the experience
Isaiah in chapter 6 of that great prophet Isaiah the great statesman
prophet one of the greatest of the Old Testament saw in a vision
the Lord God upon his throne high and lifted up and holy angels
about the throne and what was the response of Isaiah when he
saw the Lord in his glory on his throne high and lifted up
and Did Isaiah holler out, whoopee? Did Isaiah holler out, hallelujah? Woe is me, I'm undone, because
I'm a man of unclean lips, for mine eyes have seen the King,
the Lord of hosts. Verse 5, Isaiah chapter 6. He feared that he would be cut
off. and the reason I am a man of unclean lips. Yes, a prophet
of God, speaking forth the prophecies of God Almighty, but now seeing
him, I, and lifted up, saying, I am a man of unclean lips. And then there's the testimony
of the forerunner of our Lord, John the Baptizer. John 1.27
says this, He is preferred before me, whose shoe latchet I am not
worthy to untie. I'm not worthy to bend down in
the dust on my knee and untie the latchet of his shoe." John
saw himself in comparison to Christ not even worthy to perform
that act as a slave's work, to fall down and tie the shoe of
a master. No, he was not worthy even to
do that. Not worthy to grovel in the dust. at the feet of the Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ. Consider again from the Old Testament
the Lord's servant Job, whom the Lord called a perfect and
an upright man and one that feareth God. He called him that over
and over. He eschews evil and he fears
God. That was Job's character. And
yet when the Lord did speak to Job, Job said in Job 40 and verse
4, Behold, I am vile. What shall I answer? I will lay
my hand upon my mouth. Unworthy to speak in the presence
of Almighty God. You have it again in Job chapter
42 verse 5 and verse 6. I've heard of you by the hearing
of the ear. But now mine eye sees you, wherefore I abhor myself
and repent in dust and ashes." Hear him. I am vile. I abhor myself. I repent. Now it stands as an immutable
truth. The more we see, the more we know, the more we learn of
the majesty of God, the more conscious we become of our own
unworthiness and that we are yet sinful in His sight. Look into your heart. Look what
abides there. Look what enters there with great
regularity. We consider His great works toward
us, and the more we have the mind of Simon and of Abraham
and of Job and of Isaiah. In fact, I'll make a powerful
statement. It is doubtful if one has grace
who has no sense of there being a sinner in the sight of God. All saints will confess themselves
to be vile and unworthy like it is written up in the scripture. Does it pain some to hear Paul
say, I am carnal? Paul wrote, I am carnal in light
of the law. When the law came, he saw himself
as carnal and he said this, Paul, the great preacher, oh, wretched
man that I am. And again, I am the chief of
sinners. Now every Christian will have
many occasion to echo these words of these saints. I am a sinful
person. I'm vile. I'm a man or a woman
of unclean lips. I'm unworthy. And on and on it
might go. But we live in a generation proud
and arrogant and self-righteous sinners who have been taught
that by the preachers in the churches of our day. They're
ignorant of the true character, the true attribute of God, and
if they think of God, they think of Him as one like themselves. As God complained in Psalm 50
and verse 21, you thought I was one altogether like you. The old man upstairs and so forth
is how they refer unto the holy God of heaven. But the power,
the sovereignty, the purpose of God is not preached in the
churches and so we have this God in the minds of so many whom
they think is much like themselves. They who truly come to God through
Christ will be made to see themselves as sinners as they come, and
those in Christ will over and over say to the Holy God, I am
a sinful one, O Lord. Have mercy, forgive me, give
me grace. And so we see This is very fitting
of the apostle, I am a sinful man, O Lord. The confession of
any child of God at any time and over and over again. May the Lord write these things
in our heart.