Freedom of a Committed Heart 1983

I'd like to read today from Luke chapter 5, the first 11 verses. While the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret. And he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets.

Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon's, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. And when he had ceased speaking, he said to Simon, put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.

And Simon answered, Master, we toiled all night and took nothing. But at your word, I will let down the nets. And when they had done this, they enclosed a great shoal of fish.

And as their nets were breaking, they beckoned to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down to Jesus' knees, saying, depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O God.

For he was astonished at all that were with him at the catch of fish which they had taken. And so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Jesus said to Simon, do not be afraid.

From now on, you will be catching men. And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him. And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything.

They left everything. They left everything and followed him. What a wonderful thing to be able to leave everything and follow Jesus with such freedom.

Now, no agonizing, what will my wife say? Or my husband. What will my relatives say? Who's going to run the business? Who's going to take care of the equipment? They just pick up and go. Why was it so easy for them while it's so very, very hard, it seems, for us? Why did these men find it within them to so lightheartedly, so joyfully, pick up and go with Jesus and leave their nets, their careers, and even their families when we, it seems, become so heavy hearted even when we just think of the word commitment? Remember, too, that the commitment they made that day lasted for the rest of their lives, whereas we commit ourselves and take ourselves back.

We commit ourselves again, take ourselves back. Then we surrender everything to Jesus, and pretty soon, we're withdrawing again. What was it that gave these men the freedom to get up and go and keep going in the footsteps of Jesus from that point on? Now, if we compare our commitment with their commitment, we will notice one fundamental difference.

Our commitment, at least in most cases, is commitment to an idea, to a concept. Their commitment was commitment to a person. If that day in the boat, Peter had said, Lord, I'm really, really impressed with your teachings, and I just can't get over this miracle I see here.

And so what I'm going to do from now on, I'm going to change my lifestyle. I'm going to live the way you do. That would have sounded great, but it would not have lasted for one week.

See, Peter did not commit himself to a new lifestyle that day. He did not commit himself to a ministry that day. He committed himself simply to Jesus.

Now, as he followed Jesus, his lifestyle changed. He received a ministry. He began to accomplish supernatural things.

And he ended up on a cross. But Peter was not committed to a lifestyle, or to a ministry, or even to a cross. He was committed to Jesus.

And as he followed Jesus, he was brought into all these other things. Now, if we're having a hard time, and most of us are, with this idea of commitment, if commitment so often inspires gloom, and heaviness, and confusion, it's probably because we're committed to the wrong thing. When we get our commitment where their commitment was, we will be as joyful, and as free, and as lighthearted as they were.

Hence, we need to see that we are not committed to a lifestyle. We are committed to a living Lord, to Jesus. Reading from Matthew 13, 44, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up.

Then in his joy, he goes and sells all that he has and buys the field. Now, the big message in that little parable is not that he sold all that he had. The big message in that parable is that he found the treasure.

See, he wasn't committed to selling all that he had. He was committed to the treasure. We, on the other hand, so often get ourselves hung up on lifestyle.

And we determine the kind of lifestyle a radically committed follower of Jesus should have. And then we get ourselves bent out of shape, and twisted, and contorted into miserable hypocrites trying to arrive at that lifestyle. Then the big issue for us so often is, shall I sell all that I have? Can I sell all that I have? See, in the minute we sell the first piece of furniture, we're looking around to see whether the others are doing it, too.

We're not committed to selling all that we have. We're committed to Jesus. See, if we get our eyes off the lifestyle and on to the treasure, Jesus, then it becomes easy to sell all that we have.

Really. Then it just begins to happen. And it's no big sacrifice.

And we're not looking around to see whether everybody else is making the big sacrifice. Then, as our eyes are on Jesus, and we hold them there, and our hearts are on Jesus, and we keep them on him, we let go of, and kick out, and push away everything that we have to get rid of in order to have him. We need to see that we are not committed to a ministry.

We are committed to a living Lord. Commitment to a ministry will never hold us. When you're committed to a ministry, pretty soon, you're going to find your ministry boring, and discouraging, and absurd.

Commitment to a ministry will never keep us going. We can't stay committed to a ministry unless the ministry is somehow tied up with our own ego. Then it's not really a ministry.

For instance, Jesus was not committed to a ministry. He was committed to his father. His father gave him a ministry to perform, and he performed it.

See, but his commitment was not to this ministry. The commitment was to his father. Peter was a fisher of men.

That was his ministry. But he was not committed to fishing for men. He was committed to Jesus.

And there were times when fishing for men got to be a pain in the neck. Remember that night he finally says, I'm going fishing. For fish.

You know, you get them in the net, and they stay. And so some of the disciples say, that sounds like a great idea. We're going with you.

And so they put all that, and they take this little vacation or whatever it is, and they're out in the Sea of Galilee back doing what they used to do. And it was great, you know, except they didn't catch any fish. All night long, they're out there fishing, fishing, fishing.

Dawn breaks. The resurrected Jesus is standing on the shore, shrouded in the mist of the morning, and they don't know who it is. And he shouts across the water, children, did you catch anything? And they holler back, no.

Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and you'll get something. They don't know who it is. And who cares? Might try it, nothing else worked.

Down it goes. And up comes this net that looks just like it did that first time. And they're absolutely stunned.

Now they know who it is on the shore. And as fast as they can, they drag that net three quarters of a ton. They can't even get it into the boat.

They pull it behind them. And there's Jesus waiting. Breakfast is ready.

They eat. Come and dine, he says. They eat.

After breakfast, we read from John 21, 15. Jesus says to Peter, Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these? Do you love me more than these fish? He said to him, yes, Lord. You know that I love you.

He said to him, feed my lambs. The second time he said to him, Simon, son of John, do you love me? He said to him, yes, Lord. You know that I love you.

He said to him, tend my sheep. He said to him the third time, Simon, son of John, do you love me? Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, do you love me? And he said to him, Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.

Jesus said to him, feed my sheep. Notice, Jesus does not say to Peter, Simon, son of John, do you love your ministry? Because the truth was, he didn't love his ministry. He went fishing last night.

He was sick and tired of his ministry. The issue is, do you love me? Lord, you know that I love you. OK, then get back to it.

Feed my sheep. And it was this commitment to Jesus, this love for Jesus, that kept Peter going, feeding the sheep the rest of his life. And so he says to each of us, do you love me? Not do you love your ministry.

Sometimes you love your ministry. Each of us has a ministry. Each of us has work to do.

Sometimes we love it. Sometimes we hate it. Sometimes we're bored by it.

Sometimes we don't even know if we have one. Do you love me? Feed my sheep. We need to see that we are not committed to success.

We are committed to Jesus. See, the purpose of the branch is not to bear fruit. The purpose of the branch, the thing the branch has to do, is abide in the vine.

If the branch abides in the vine, then it will bear fruit. And so we read from John chapter 7, verse 37. On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and proclaimed, if anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.

He who believes in me, as the scripture has said, out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water. My commitment is not to try to make rivers of living water come out of my heart. The harder I try to do that, the worse it's going to be.

There's going to be death coming out of me. My commitment is to go to the fountainhead of the living waters and drink and drink and receive from him. Then rivers of living water will come out.

If I'm drinking from Jesus, I'm receiving him, I'm abiding in him, then I will have life for the world around me. I will heal the sick, I'll raise the dead, I'll cast out demons, I'll set the captives free. But I'm not committed to any of those things.

I'm committed to Jesus. What I'm committed to, I am to know him in the power of his resurrection, to know him in the fellowship of his sufferings, and to know Jesus even to the point where I become like him in his death so that every day I begin to come forth alive, risen from the dead in the power of his resurrection for life for other people. Finally, we need to see that we are not committed even to a goal, even though we know that our goal is a cross.

We are committed to the Lord Jesus. Reading on in the 21st chapter of John, I'll pick it up again at verse 17. He said to him the third time, Simon, son of John, do you love me? Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, do you love me? He said to him, Lord, you know everything.

You know that I love you. Jesus said to him, feed my sheep. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you girded yourself and walked where you would.

But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish to go. This he said to show by what death he was to glorify God. And after this he said to him, follow me.

Peter turned and saw following them the disciple whom Jesus loved, who had lain close to his breast at the supper table and had said, Lord, who is it that's going to betray you? When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, Lord, what about this man? What shall this man do? Jesus said to him, if it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? Follow me. Jesus tells Peter that he's going to die on a cross, that Peter's going to die on a cross. Right away, Peter looks at that cross, not at Jesus, at the cross.

First thing that comes into his head, what about John? Is he going to die on a cross too? That's how we are. Get your eyes off the master and look at the goal, and you're right away comparing. Jesus says, if I want John to stay alive until I come back, what business is that of yours? Follow me.

Get your eyes back on me, Peter. And Peter did. What a wonderful thing.

Peter got his eyes and his heart on Jesus, and he held them there long after Jesus was no longer physically visible to Peter. Jesus was Peter's joy. Jesus was his fulfillment, his treasure, his comfort, his glory, his everything, so that when the time came for Peter to lay down his life on a cross, it became for Peter, really, a piece of cake.

Because he wasn't looking at the cross. He was looking beyond the cross to his Lord. So there's a cross at the end of the road where each of us call to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Jesus.

But our commitment must not be to the cross. It must be to Jesus, who will get us to the cross, through the cross, and beyond it. So where is our commitment today? Are we committed to a lifestyle? Are we committed to a ministry? Are we committed to some dream of success, some worthy Christian goal? None of those kinds of commitment will ever keep us going in this uncertain, stormy, turbulent world in which we live.

If we try to commit ourselves to such things, we're going to find ourselves burdened down, and wounded, and gloomy, and discouraged, and depressed, and no wonder people, when they see us coming, will run and hide. Freedom, joy, and power will inflame our commitment. When we put our commitment where it belongs.

When we get our hearts off all these legitimate, good, Christian virtues, and fix them exclusively on the Master. Not Moses, and Elijah, and Jesus. Just Jesus.

Jesus only. Simon, son of John, do you love me? Do you love me? And so he says to each of us now, each one of us, right now, my little brother, my little sister, he says to each of us, do you love me? If you love me, then go and feed my sheep. And I'll give you living bread to feed them.

I'll give you courage to lay down your life for them. And I will be with you all the days, even to the end of the age. Now before we go into silence and prayer, I think today it would be appropriate, if we're thinking about this, to at least give an opportunity to anybody who may be among us, knowing that today is a day they have to do it.

If there are such, there may be nobody, but there may be one or two, no doubt there is somebody, who knows that now is the time to make this commitment to Jesus. Some who have never done it. Some who did it long ago, and kind of say, and they know that now is the time.

Why don't you just come on down and kneel at the rail. Let somebody pray with you. And then let the rest of us join in recommitting ourselves to Jesus.

And get our eyes off all these other things. Get us so confused. Just, just Jesus today.

Alright, let's just wait upon him in silence now. Give time for anybody who feels like they want to use the rail.