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Posted on: February 10, 2019

Fifth Sunday in OT - STEPS TO RECOVERING FROM FAILURE LUK.5:1-11

Fifth Sunday OT Year C – RECOVERING FROM FAILURE Luk.5:1-11

Have you ever tried something that turned out to be a total a total flop? Have any of you ever had a failure in life? I know I have had so many in my life. Failures can be devastating. But folks here is a truth – failure can become a stepping-stone to success. An incident from Peter’s life in today’s Gospel illustrates this wonderful truth. 

In today’s Gospel story, Jesus surrounded by a crowd. They were pressing in on him – so he notices two boats on the shore – the fishermen were there too – they were putting away their nets after a long unsuccessful night of fishing. So Jesus gets into one of the boats and asks if they can move out in the water a bit. Of course they do and Jesus teaches the people from the boat.

The story tells us that the boat belongs to Peter yet Jesus did not ask for permission to get in the boat – it seems that he just did that. But the text does tell us that Jesus asks Simon Peter to move out a little from the shore so that he could teach the people from there. Simon Peter’s response was simple – he allows Jesus to be in charge. That’s the first point of recovery from failure.

1. ALLOW Jesus To Take Control

At this point in the story we don’t know how much Simon Peter knew about Jesus but he allowed Jesus to get into his boat. It does not say that he put up any argument.That’s the starting point. If you want to overcome failure – you’ve got to allow Jesus in your boat. You’ve got to allow him to be in charge. Nothing – absolutely nothing has greater influence on your personal success than having Christ in your life. Do you know what the Bible says? It says:

“I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” Phil. 4:13. Through the strength and power of Christ – I can do all things. I can overcome my failures. I can become a great success.

It is important to note that he allowed Jesus to take control of an extremely important possession in his life – his boat. Peter’s boat represented his livelihood, his income. But Peter went ahead and let Jesus take control of it.

You know sometimes there are things we like to hold on to. Sometimes there are things that we don’t want others to touch. Sometimes there are things that we just won’t let go of. Those are the things we need to give to Jesus.

You see the first step to the road to success is putting Jesus in control of your life. But that’s not all – to overcome failure you need to:

2. DO What Jesus Asks

Our text says: “When Jesus finished teaching, he said to Simon, "Push out into deep water and let your nets out for a catch." Luke 5:4 

Even though Peter and his friends were fishermen, Jesus told Simon Peter – where to fish, when to fish, and how to fish. They had been out fishing all night and they had caught nothing – they failed. Simon Peter was tired – he was exhausted – he had come up empty handed – he was disappointed. I can kind of imagine what might be going on in Peter’s mind at this point. He may be thinking, “What’s the use. I gave it my best shot last night and I got nothing. I failed. Why try again and who does this Jesus think he is? He’s not a fisherman – he’s the son of carpenter. I’m the fisherman here. I’m the professional. I’m the expert. He thinks he knows more about fishing than I do?”

But look at what Simon Peter says: “Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but I will do as You say and let down the nets." Luke 5:5. It is easy to call one a Christian but it is much harder to act like one. A true Christian is one who does what Jesus tells him to do. If you 

Do you know what Peter did? He went out to the deep water – he let down his nets – he started fishing – just a Jesus had been told him to do. It was the same lake he had fished in the night before – the same boat he had used – it was the same nets that had come up empty – he was the same man who had caught nothing the night before – but this time he listened to Jesus and he did what Jesus asked him to do. And what was the outcome this time? It was completely different than the night before – he had two boat loads of fish!

He had let Jesus be in control. He had let Jesus take charge. He had done what Jesus asked him to do and now he was successful. Now he overcame his failure. And now he would share the surplus. That’s point three:

3. SHARE the Surplus

The Gospel says, “When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. So they signalled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them.  for them to come and help them. And they came and filled both of the boats, so that they began to sink.” Luke 5:6-7.

Simon Peter was blessed with much fish than he could handle. But Peter didn’t hold back his blessing – when he saw the abundance of fish coming in – he shared it. If you want to be a success – share your surplus. 

If you want to overcome your failures – if you want to be successful you need to allow Jesus to take control of your life – you need to do what he asks you to do – you need to share your surplus and you need to:

4. WALK Humbly Before God

Look at what Simon Peter said after the miracle of the fish. He cries out: “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!" Luke 5:8. 

It just wasn’t by Peter’s efforts that the nets were full. Sure Peter had gone out in the deep water – sure Peter had let down his nets – but it was Jesus who gave him the fish. God blessed him and Peter knew that God had blessed him and he was humbled. A big part of Christian living is walking humbly before our God.

But that’s not the end of the story. In fact it was a new beginning for Peter’s life. Because of the miracle of the fish – Simon Peter resets the priorities for his life. And that is our last point:

5. RE-SET Your Priorities
The text says, “When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him.” Luke 5:11.

Can you imagine this – when they got to land they left the greatest catch they had ever experienced sitting right there on the shore and went and followed Jesus! That experience put things into proper perspective for them. They suddenly realized what is most important in life; following Jesus who holds the key to everything they have ever wanted. And Jesus had invited them to become part of the greatest fishing trip in the history of the world. Jesus had said to them, “I’m going to make you fishers of men.”

How does this story relate to your life? Maybe you feel like the disciples in today’s Gospel story: “I’ve worked all night and come up with an empty net.” Does that describe your marriage, your job, your life?

Simon Peter didn’t say, “Lord, I’ve worked ten hours and didn’t catch anything – I give up. I’ve had it. I’m through.” No – He didn’t give in – he didn’t up – he let Jesus take control – he did what Jesus asked him to do – he shared the surplus – he walked in humbleness before God and he reset the priorities in his life and he became successful. How about you – what are you going to do? Let Jesus take control. Let him come into your boat and see what happens.

Posted on: February 3, 2019

Fourth Sunday in OT Year C: BLIND SPOTS Luk.4:21-30

Fourth Sunday in OT Year C – BLIND SPOTS Luk.4:21-30
o    If I ask you to look around you now in church to see if you can see everything you will say yes you can. But the truth is, whether our vision is 20/20 or corrected by lenses the reality is is, we cannot see everything around us.
o    The human eye has a spot which is a small area in the retina, the size of a pencil eraser without photoreceptors (a light sensitive cell). We aren’t aware of this spot bc our brain fills blank area with images thereby making our vision seamless.
o    We also have this blind spots in our lives, which negatively impacts us but we cannot see. Like a blind spot in driving, a spiritual blind spot that is ignored can lead to massive wrecks in our lives.
o    In today’s Gospel we see how Jesus’ audience will not accept him even after the miracle at Cana because they were blind sighted by prejudice 

What is your blind spot that hinders you entering into a total friendship with Jesus?Let’s consider some of these blind spots in our lives and how we can seek help for them:
1.    Stubborn Resistance (blinded by denial):
o    Pharaoh comes to mind here as a good example. When Moses went to him to allow him lead the Israelites out of Egypt, he resisted. Not even after seeing their entire livestock dead and the water turning into blood. Even these were not enough to break pharaoh .
o    We do the same. We become kings of stubborn resistance. We develop habits & we hang onto them. By doing so we hurt ourselves and our loved one by allowing these habits to fester in almost every area of our lives.
o    The crowd in today’s Gospel had people with this kind of problem. They had developed certain habits rooted in prejudice that they just couldn’t see pass it. Jesus just couldn’t be the Messiah.
o    The key to our healing here is OPEN-MINDEDNESS & a willingness to act. This leads to real change.

2.    Arrogant Entitlement (blinded by selfishness)
o    We live in a world that encourages my-way thinking. Everyday we are bombarded with ads that tells us to ‘have it your way’ whether it hurts others. You’re entitled to be happy. This self-centredness wants from others what is due to them.
o    This selfish sense of entitlement hinders our ability to achieve all that God has in mind for us because we cannot broaden our viewpoint to include others.’
o    The key to our healing here is HUMILITY. Real humility doesn’t climb on others but reaches out to connect with others, appreciating them for who they are.
o    A humble person does not use everything within himself to further his own cause but uses them to help others thereby fulfilling God’s will for him.

3.    Justifiable Resentment (blinded by bitterness):
o    Have you been so hurt by someone that feel that you have every right to remain angry and bitter? Have you done something so awful that you cannot forgive yourself?
o    If you carry around such feeling of bitterness know that it’s as dangerous as radioactive material because it will just eat away at who you are at the deepest level of your being.
o    Often we look for loophole to withhold forgiveness.
o    Often we think that the abuser deserves worse so we are unwilling to forgive. We think forgiving lets them go scot-free.
o    Jesus wants to set us free and give us peace but this is not possible as long as we do not let go.
o    No matter how deep the hurt is, choose to move on for your own sake. 


4.    Inexcusable Self-hate (blinded by a feeling of worthlessness):
o    Christians are not immune from self-hatred. We look around us and we compare ourselves and we don’t measure up. We hate ourselves for how we look, how we feel, our past , what’s been done to us & our 
o    This gives way to a feeling of worthlessness & rejection.
o    The problem with this is, over time we begin to see ourselves in this light before God. Then we cannot fathom how God who is Almighty, sovereign will even spare a thought for us. We are not worth his time.
o    Feeling this way makes accepting God’s love very difficult.
o    Do you believe what Jesus says about you or do you believe the lies that causes low self esteem 

This is what God says about you:
“Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave power to become CHILDREN OF GOD.” John 1:12
o    When we grow in the understanding of who we are in Christ, we can then let go of wrong thinking or of a feeling of worthlessness

Posted on: February 1, 2019

Third Sunday in OT - JESUS’ INAUGURAL SPEECH (Why Jesus Came) Luk. 4:14-21


Third Sunday OT Year C - JESUS’ INAUGURAL SPEECH (Why Jesus come) Luk.4:14-21


⁃    Since his baptism Jesus has been busy; spent 40 days in the wilderness, later picks his followers, changed water to wine @ a wedding and in d midst of his busy schedule today we see him go 2 the temple where he gave his inaugural speech.
⁃    As he entered the temple he read a passage from scripture that spells out his mission.
⁃    His mission was not to perform miracles, 2 heal everyone but cane 2 deal with a much deeper issue that had plagued mankind since the fall.
⁃    If we do not understand clearly why Jesus came then the message of the Cross becomes meaningless.

WHY DID JESUS COME?
0.    To preach 2 the poor
⁃    To limit this only to materially poor shortchanged why Jesus came
⁃    This why some churches put all their focus on social Gospel & riding d world of poverty.
⁃    His real mission here is the SPIRITUALLY poor 
⁃    Sin has a recasting effect on each of us . It’s like those who gamble or so drugs, drains them 
⁃    Sin bankrupts our spiritual banks & Js came 2 fix this.

0.    To Proclaim freedom 2 captives
⁃    Captive denotes someone taken as a prisoner of war
⁃    Have you ever been around a person addicted 2 something? He’s held captive 2 whatever he’s addicted 2.
⁃    What do you think addictions like anger issues, pride, lust, need for control, money, position do to one’s health? Holds one captive of course.
⁃    Jesus is saying here that his mission is 2 offer forgiveness & freedom 2 those enslaved to these addictions 

0.    To give sight to the blind
⁃    As a parent have you ever been in a situation where your child is dating someone you knew was bad for them & U try all you can but they can’t see it. Why is it so obvious 2 everyone but your son can’t see it? Bc they’re blinded 2 d truth
⁃    Sin/addictions blinds us 2 reality & Jesus has come to fix this (Amazing Grace: WAS ONCE BLIND BUT NOW I CAN SEE...)

0.    To set Free d oppressed
⁃    Our world is filled with so many unhappy people bc d pressure of sin/addictions weighs us down. As sin puts burden on us
⁃    Jesus wants 2 give us relief. He’s opening d cell so that we can step out

0.    To Proclaim d year of God’s Favor
What is this year of favor; what happens in this year of Favor?
⁃    It is the season when Jesus receives those held captive 2 addictions/sin
⁃    A year when Jesus has come 2 fix our problems.
⁃    Jesus fixes it with NAILS!!!

Steps to fighting sin
1.    Combat your inner voice 
2.    Sin/addiction numbs a person from joy
3.    Have compassion - we all face struggles and make mistakes
4.    Share your struggle 
5.    Name it
6.    God’s agenda needs to be ours 

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