GOD’S WORD FOR  NOVEMBER 2

Our  book excerpt today, and ongoing,  is from “Chiseled by the Master’s Hand”  Lessons from the Life of Peter, by Erwin  Lutzer.  Dr. Lutzer is  Canadian-born and served as Senior Pastor of the Moody Church in Chicago for 36 years, until his retirement in 2016.   He now serves as Pastor Emeritus of Moody Church.  He’s written many books and has radio and internet teaching programs.

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(Read Luke 5:1-11)

The Divine Sculptor does not work with marble, but with human beings who are actively involved in the shaping process.  God begins His serious work by showing us just how much needs to be done.  To be effective, the chisel must open the soul to self-awareness.  As emphasized in the last chapter, we must know who we ARE before we can expect to be changed into who we can BECOME.

Christ knew that sculpturing is an individual process; each person must feel the blows and respond to the grinding wheel.  The men Christ selected would be His representatives to carry on His work.  Like the rabbis of old, He knew that His greatest ministry would not be with the crowds but with individuals ignited with His fire.  These men would follow Him, learning His doctrine and practices.  They would carry the torch to their generation and eventually to the world.

Creative teacher that He was, Christ used the common experiences of the disciples to teach some uncommon lessons.  Several of his chosen followers were fishermen by trade, a vocation that prepared them for their new calling.  After these men had met Christ along the banks of the Jordan, they went back to their homes expecting to continue in their fishing business.  Their search for the Messiah had ended, but the need for their daily bread continued.

What a change one day can bring!  A few  months before they had gone to meet the Messiah, but now HE CAME TO MEET THEM.  As He walked along the shore of Galilee, Jesus saw the brothers Andrew and Peter casting a net into the sea.  He called to then, “Follow Me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.,”  (Mark 1:17).

What a novel idea!  They had never observed anyone “catching men,” so they were puzzled by His words.  But the Master would soon teach them a lesson that would clarify what fishing for men was all about.  If Peter and his companions learned this lesson well, their lives would be changed forever.

In Luke 5:1-11, we have an account of a miracle that assured the disciples that fishing for men would be successful.  One morning as the villages around Galilee were awakening to the life of a new day, a crowd surrounded Christ as He strolled along the shore.  The site of the multitude increased and He found Himself pushed close to the water’s edge.

Providentially, Peter and his companions had just come to the shore and were putting their nets away, but their boats were empty.  So Jesus climbed into Peter’s boat and asked him to push out a short distance; then He sat down in the boat and began to teach.  This arrangement enabled Him to speak to more people and be more clearly seen at the same time.

Wondrous condescension!  Jesus could have found some other way to speak to the crowd, so that He would not have had to depend on Peter’s kindness.  But, though He has infinite resources,  HE LETS US HELP HIM!!  When He had finished His lesson, Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.”  But the command seemed foolish.  There were some well-known reasons why this was the wrong time and place to fish. 

Here we have a firsthand example of Christ’s chiseling process.  Though His target was all four of these would-be disciples, the sharpest pain would come to Peter’s soul.

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Jeremiah 29:11

    “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Ephesians 2:10

    “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Psalms 138:8

    “The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.”

Romans 8:28

    “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

Proverbs 19:21

    “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”

1 Thessalonians 5:11

    “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”

Hebrews 10:24-25

    “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

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