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Seven Secrets to Spiritual Success - Luke 5:1-11
Introduction
Almost everyone is interested in success. If you have any doubt, look at the business section and self-help section of the local bookstore. Look at the best-selling books. Examine your mail for all the ads for success seminars.
Of all people in the world, Christians should want to succeed. What makes us different are our definition of success and our strategies to get there.
Let’s take a lesson from a tired and weary group of fishermen who felt like failures until Jesus taught them a lesson. It was a lesson that sustained them the rest of their lives.
I. Accept the limitations of human efforts and plans.
A. Peter, Andrew, James and John did all they knew to do and still had come up empty.
B. While God gave us brains to think with, sometimes we don’t have enough cleverness on our own to do the job.
II. Trust the word of Jesus even if it doesn’t make sense.
A. How do you think these fisherman felt, taking advice from a carpenter turned preacher? Didn’t they know fishing? It was their business.
B. Still, there was something in Jesus that caused them to trust him. He did not, of course, ask them to do something immoral, just something that did not seem to make sense.
III. Be willing to take risks.
A. When Jesus asked them to go out, it was into the deep water.
B. Every great enterprise takes some risk.
IV. Persevere even through disappointment and fatigue.
A. The fishermen were tired, but willing to do their part.
B. They were discouraged, but willing to try again.
V. Remember the importance of teamwork.
A. As success came, they had to share the burden.
B. Since Jesus was the ultimate focus, it didn’t matter who got the credit.
VI. Remember, God can give us more than we ask or imagine.
A. The catch of fish was even greater than they would have expected.
B. Our God delights in surprising us.
VII. Be humble in your success.
A. Peter did not take credit for the success.
B. In fact, he humbled himself before God and came face to face with His own unworthiness.
Conclusion
Remember after Jesus’ resurrection, Peter, in the throes of regret, decided to go back to fishing. Peter no doubt felt he had failed. Jesus came to him again and did a similar miracle. He evidently never forgot the lesson. He went from that place to become a great fisher of men. He became a spiritual success, and so can you. You know the secrets.
Illustrations
Think of how a bird must feel the first time it is pushed from the nest by its mother. The feeling must begin with fear, but as the bird stretches its wings and soars, it becomes exhilaration. Risk is a part of all achievement. A risk-free life is terribly dull.
Runners describe a feeling called the “runners high.” It only comes after the runner has pushed past his fatigue and kept on going when every cell of his body is yelling for him to stop. The feeling of exhaustion yields to the feeling of euphoria. It happens only if we are willing to keep on going when we feel like quitting.
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