Luke 5

Let’s turn to Luke Chapter 5, the famous passage about the miraculous catch of fish: “It happened that while Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the crowd was pressing in on Him to hear the word of God, and He saw two boats near the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets. And getting into one of those boats, which belonged to Simon, He asked him to put out a little from the land; and sitting down, He taught the crowd from the boat. When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, ‘Put out into deep water and let down your nets for a catch.’”

Simon answered Him, “Master, we have been working all night and have caught nothing. But at Your word, at Your word I will let down the net.” And when they had done so, they enclosed a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. Then they signaled to their companions in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they were sinking. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell to his knees before Jesus, saying, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man,” because fear had taken hold of him and of all those who were with him because of the catch they had made. And likewise James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were Simon’s partners; but Jesus said to Simon, “DO NOT be afraid; from now on you will be a fisher of men.” And when they had brought the boats to land, they left everything and followed Him.” May the Lord bless His holy word.

Father, we entrust this wonderful word to You, along with our lives, our voice, and our teachings. Speak to us through Your word and build us up. Nourish us in our faith, Lord, and give us the vision to see Your generous way of dealing with us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

We have been talking about the generous life, a life of giving. Using the life of the prophet Elijah as an example, we have talked about the need to give in the realm of discomfort, beyond what is familiar, beyond what is comfortable. The widow of Zarephath had to give the prophet Elijah something that was very precious to her. She had to give in that dimension in order to draw out the blessing God wanted to give her life.

We have also talked about the fact that God owns all the gold, the silver; everything we have, everything we are, belongs to Him. The Lord owns everything. He even owns the atoms that make up matter, reality, our thoughts, the electrochemical processes that govern our brains; everything is ultimately the fruit and product of Him. When we give to Him, we give Him what is His, not what is ours; we have nothing in and of ourselves.

We have also said that when we live that way, in a generous, giving way, brothers and sisters, blessing flows into our lives. That is God’s mathematics. The mathematics of man and reason says: the more I hold on to, the more I have. God’s mathematics says: the more I give, the more I receive. Do you see? In God’s mathematics, less is more when it is done in faith, in accordance with the Lord’s blessing. In God’s mathematics, dying is a prelude to living. In God’s mathematics, humbling oneself is the prelude to being lifted up.

Let us look at Philippians 2:5–11: “...the Lord emptied Himself, He divested Himself of His glory, and therefore God lifted Him up and gave Him a name that is above every name.” In God’s mathematics, contradiction—the paradox—is predominant. In reason, everything must always be logical.

And we see this here in the life of the Apostle Peter. Up to this point, we have preached mainly from the Old Testament, and I wanted to show that these principles are also the same in the New Testament.

We see here that the passage begins with a situation of need. The need is on Jesus’ part. The Lord is experiencing a need here; what is the need? The crowd has followed Him, as they always did, because only He had the words of eternal life. The crowd presses in on Him, and He cannot speak freely; they are all surrounding Him, and in His human nature He cannot speak to them in the way He wants to speak to them. So He has no platform; He has no microphone. He could have spoken with a supernatural voice if He had wanted to, but in this case the Lord confined Himself to His human form. He is experiencing a need: How do I speak to the crowd? How do I solve this dilemma? How can I communicate and give life to these people through My word?

Let us look at that dilemma for a moment before continuing. The Lord could, as we say, speak supernaturally, but He prefers to limit Himself to His human voice. And that is how it is, brothers and sisters, with the Kingdom of God here in this present administration: God has chosen to limit Himself in His ability to speak to humanity, and through whom does He speak? Through the church. The Lord has not chosen angels to travel through the different countries of the world preaching the Gospel. Whom has He chosen? He has chosen us. He could have done it if He had wanted to, but God has devised a system called the church—the faithful, the children of God—to preach His word to a multitude, to a world in need.

Then it says that the Lord looks around and sees two boats, beside which some fishermen were washing their nets after a night of fishing—a night that, as we later discover, was completely fruitless; they did not catch a single fish. And there they are, like good fishermen, washing the salt off their boats—or the salt off their nets—so that they will not be ruined. But the Lord sees that they have something He can use: a boat. And His mind tells Him that if He can get into that boat, move a little way from the shore, and remain at a distance from the people, He can project His voice better and deliver His message of life.

And here we also see a parallel, because I have always thought that our lives are like that boat which the Lord asks Peter to allow Him to use. Our lives are like that; we are that boat, we are Peter’s boat. The Lord is saying to us: I need your life. I need your property. I need your resources so that I can get on them and project My message of life to the multitude that needs it. Say amen, even if it is only to please me a little, so I know you have not left or fallen asleep. The Lord needs our lives. Why? Because He has decided it should be so.

The Lord, who is the Creator and owner of everything, says: I need what you have. Because you know something, brothers and sisters? That boat did not belong to Peter; it belonged to the Lord, because the Lord made the tree from which that boat was built. The Lord says: Will you allow Me to use you? Will you allow Me to use you? Will you allow Me to come inside you and take control of your life, your resources, your money, your time, your talents? Listen to me. The Lord is always asking that. The Lord is always looking for people who will say to Him: Lord, use me.

Once the Lord looked and saw a multitude, and His heart broke because it says that He saw them as sheep without a shepherd. And the Lord said: The fields are white, white for harvest, and there are no laborers to work that harvest. And He said: Pray to the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into His harvest; there is a need.

Brothers and sisters, this is a time of great opportunity for the world. The church of Jesus Christ has more work than ever and needs more resources than ever in order to project the message of salvation. The Lord says: Where are the laborers? Where are the people who will give themselves and give of what they have to carry out the Lord’s work? I think about the future of our church, and I see great possibilities—that the Lord can use this congregation more and more each day. But, brothers and sisters, I also understand that a church will need to invest, to invest so that those things can become possible. We want a church of excellence. And, brothers and sisters, that costs money. It requires, brothers and sisters, a generous congregation—listen to me—a generous congregation. Generous men and women. Do you understand? So that we do not have to go around begging or manipulating, but rather that you give because that is your joy and your privilege. Amen.

And that is what we have also understood from Elijah’s life: when we give, we must give from a position of sufficiency in the Lord, without being afraid: Where will this little piece of bread that I am giving now come from, and will I be left without enough? Do you understand? That is the world’s mentality of scarcity and poverty. The mentality of a child of God is a mentality of sufficiency, blessing, and provision. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not lack anything, says the word of the Lord.

Brothers and sisters, I believe that believers must practice generosity as a discipline. We must practice carefree generosity. And sometimes, brothers and sisters, we have to be a little disorderly—I am going to say it. When we give deliberately like that, when we are a little daring and sometimes a little disorderly, look, the Lord blesses, and that is where we discover the Lord’s blessing. Here in our church, I try to get us to practice that.

And I ask the Lord: Father, do not make us so prudent and so administrative in our mentality that we become stingy in what we give to the Lord. Let us be free to give right and left. Let us be a congregation that is generous with our physical facilities and our financial resources, and let us give to other ministries, let us give to other churches, let us give to other ministers, let us develop more for the Kingdom of God, because as we give, God will bless us more and more each day.

The word of the Lord says in Ecclesiastes: “...cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days it will return to you. It says, give portions to seven and to eight, for you do not know what disaster may come.” That is why I encourage you, during this season of the vision to build our temple, not to miss this opportunity to begin practicing a life of generosity toward God. Dare to do it in the name of the Lord. That is the word: dare to do it in the name of the Lord. Step out of your comfort zone and dare to do something noble, heroic, and generous. The Lord says: I have a need; help Me. Help Me, says the Lord.

Look at how scandalous that is. Some theologians would remove me from the pulpit if they heard me say that. But the Lord says: Help Me. To you, you insignificant madman, the Lord says: Help Me. He says: I want to build a temple so that My Latino community can hear the message. Help Me. And if you dare, God will bless you.

I will finish with this. Look at what happened here, and this is a precious message. Peter had the sensitivity to give the Lord his boat. Then the Lord turns to Peter after preaching the message, after satisfying the crowd, after Peter has given the Lord his property to use, and now He says to Peter: Peter, now you and I are going out into deep water. I have something to teach you. And there, when they have gone out into deep water, the Lord says to Peter: Peter, now let down your net for a catch. I assure you that the Lord said it with a touch of mischief, because He knew what had happened to Peter the night before. He knew that Peter had been trying to fish all night and had not caught a single fish with his natural strength, his own cunning, and his own resources. Peter did not know that He knew, but the Lord knew that He knew. And now He says to Peter: Come, you and I are going to conduct an experiment.

The Lord has been developing an entire object lesson throughout this whole process. And the Lord says to him: Put out into deep water, Peter, because I want to teach you something that will serve you throughout your entire life and all your ministry, and it is this: when you give to Me, I will be very mindful of your need, and I will bless you and provide for you more than you will receive through your own strength.

Then the Lord says to Peter: Let down your net for a catch. And reason says to Peter: But I spent the night fishing under optimal conditions—at night, when people fish because there is no noise and no light to frighten the fish—and I could not catch anything; and now this man, who knows nothing about fishing, tells me to let down the net now. The Lord says: But do not use your reason; use My power. My power is greater than reason.

But Peter had the good sense to be obedient. Peter had the sense to set his reason aside and enter into a mode of faith and obedience. Everyone say: obedience. That is the key. There are many things that are not going to make sense to you. Tithing may not make sense to you, but do it in obedience, just as I had to do it 25 years ago in obedience; I have lacked nothing, and God has blessed me. I did not necessarily believe it, but I said: Well, there have been so many spiritual people throughout the centuries who have practiced this, and the word of the Lord is quite clear, so I am going to be obedient. I am going to set aside my doubts and my fears, and I am going to do it. And do you know what? That very year, God blessed me far more than I could ever have imagined.

Sometimes we have to do things out of simple obedience. Grit your teeth and do it because the Lord says so, and forget your questions, your fears, your reservations, your doubts, the circumstances, or what you have seen happen to others. Do it because the Lord says so.

Peter said, “Lord, I have tried to fish all night long and have caught nothing, but at your word, because of your promise, because of your faithfulness, because of who you are, because you are faithful, I will do it.” And what happened? The Bible says that he caught a multitude of fish. Those fish came from every part of that lake; they came from the north, the south, the east, and the west. They heard a voice there in the depths of the waters saying, “Go where that net is being cast, because I have given my word that that net will not come up empty.” You see? But it all begins with an act way back there. Peter, will you lend me your boat? Will you surrender your property to me? Will you dare to seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness and trust that all these other things will be added unto you?

Here is an opportunity. The Lord is saying, “Do you dare to bless my church? And do not worry; I am going to bless you.” Look, the final thing is that when you give to the Lord, God blesses you materially. We have already seen it in Peter’s case, because he reaped much more, he gathered much more than he could ever have imagined. The second thing, however, is that when you give to the Lord, God raises you to a new spiritual level. When we give to the Lord, we can see the glory of God. We know him more intimately. We grow in faith. We have greater intimacy with the Lord. We leave the realm of rhetoric and enter the realm of reality. And we talk, and talk, and talk, but when the moment of truth arrives, many of us chicken out, as the Mexicans say; we run away. But when you begin to give sacrificially to the Lord, you are entering the realm of reality, truth, consistency, and integrity, and there is no escape there.

We can then begin—when you give to the Lord, the Lord shows himself faithful, and then you begin to grow in faith; you begin to see God in a way that most Christians who live only in theory and in empty, outward rhetoric never experience. Because when you give to the Lord, he then begins to show himself faithful in your life.

Peter left there blessed, because the Lord said to him, “You know what, Peter? From this day forward, you will no longer smell like fish; you will no longer be a mere fisherman of aquatic animals; you will be a fisher of men. Hallelujah! You have dared to take a risk. You have dared to do something crazy in my name. You have dared to give to me, and because of that I am going to lift you up and give you another name. You will no longer be just another ordinary man, but a rock upon which I will establish my church.” When you give to the Lord, you are blessed materially, but you are also elevated spiritually. Do not miss this opportunity to be more than a mere mortal and to see the glory of God.

Let us bow our heads. Lord, we worship you; we bless you. Thank you, Lord, because these principles have been at work throughout all the ages, and they are still at work in my life and in the lives of my brothers and sisters. Lord, we want to be like Peter. We want to give you our boat. We want to live lives of sacrifice and service, Lord. We want to give you our utmost. We believe; help our unbelief, Lord. Help our unbelief. Break the bonds of unbelief, reason, stinginess, small-mindedness, timidity, and the past.

Let us see your glory. Let us look ahead, toward that realm of abundance and privilege to which you call us. Father, give us victory in this stage of our church’s life. Give us that faith, Lord, to know that when small, humble, unknown people dare to give to you, you bless them and prosper them. May this Lion of Judah community be a voice, an example to the entire city of Boston of how you bless those who dare to bless you first, Lord, and to enter realms of faith. Increase our faith; increase our faith.

Now, as you have your head bowed, if this morning you have truly listened to the word of the Lord and know that God is calling you into a new realm of faith and belief, raise your hand. Just raise your hand. If you believe that God is calling you into a new realm of faith and belief—at least three or four people understand what I am saying. Do not play games with the Lord. Do not be more timid than you need to be. If you believe that the Lord is calling you into a new realm of faith, raise your hand this morning. Oh Lord, I trust, I trust, I trust in your provision, God. Help me enter, Lord, into that realm of faith and belief in you, O God. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Jesus.