The Fifth Sunday after Trinity – Pr. Anderson sermon
St. Luke 5:1-11 “Called to Heavenly Riches from Earthly Needs”
July 20, 2025 | Christ Lutheran Church
In Nomine Iesu
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O Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, You have given us Your holy Word and have bountifully provided for all our earthly needs: We confess that we are unworthy of all these mercies, and that we have rather deserved punishment. But we beseech You, forgive us our sins, and prosper and bless us in our various callings, that by Your strength we may be sustained and defended, now and forever, and so praise and glorify You eternally; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one true God, now and forever. Amen. (Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary, by Veit Dietrich, p. 159)
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. (Rom. 1:7, etc.)
The sermon text for today is taken from the 5th chapter of the Gospel according to St. Luke. We read selected verses in Jesus’ name:
On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on Him to hear the word of God, [Jesus] 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 finished 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.”
These are Your words, heavenly Father. Sanctify us by Your truth, Your Word is truth. Amen. (Joh. 17:17)
In Christ Jesus, who knows our needs and provides for us, preaching to us what is most important, eternal life in the kingdom of God, dear fellow redeemed:
From a young age, climbing all the way to the age we are now, we have had to ask ourselves the same question when we go shopping, “Am I adding to my shopping cart wants or needs?” Maybe when we were younger, we didn’t ask this question, but our parents asked us this question. I don’t know what age has the harder time answering this question. Now there is nothing wrong with putting a want into the cart, yet life has its ups and downs, God gave us brains, and deep down we know we can see the difference between a want and a need. Our text goes even further, pointing out how much we rely on our needs. In the end, our earthly needs, needed for our survival, are not really ours. We can go through life without even earthly needs, because our Savior has called us to the life that provides heavenly riches.
Using the word “riches”, it is easy to forget about the heavenly part because we all live in the world with all its problems. The disciples knew what those problems were because before they were called, they were trying to make a living themselves. They have no idea how Jesus will provide for them. 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. These men had followed Jesus and had already seen some miracles. John tells us these men were followers of John the Baptist. One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother (John 1:40). They know John, they have witnessed Jesus, and now as the crowd is pushing in on Jesus, He asks these men if they could let Him use the boat and continue to teach.
The message Jesus is teaching is a message for all to hear. Before our text Luke writes, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose” (Luke 4:43). As Peter continues his work, this whole time he is hearing about the kingdom of God. A message that we know from all the parables Jesus would preach later. After hearing this great message, now Peter is asked to put the message from Jesus to practice. And when He had finished 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.” Like all of us, Peter had a bad day at work. He went out at the best time and caught nothing. When you hear the message of this teacher and have already seen what He can do, would you not trust Him? In this instance, Peter could not have listened. Instead, He puts his trust in Jesus’ Word.
This is the kingdom of God. Putting our trust through hearing and believing God’s Word. He says as much even in the Old Testament. And if you will indeed obey my commandments that I command you today, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, he will give the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the later rain, that you may gather in your grain and your wine and your oil…”You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lied down, and when you rise” (Deuteronomy 11:13-14, 18-19). All our earthly needs are given to us as blessings through hearing and believing in His Word. We should internalize it, remember it daily, and teach our children.
For Peter and his associates, they see the blessings right away. And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. Now this should be a very joyous occasion. What looked like a bad day of fishing turned into one that was very profitable. So, why was Peter’s response, But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” This was an earthly need for Peter, his associates, and his family and all he can do is fall down before the Lord who has given it to him. This is all we can do as we see clearly that even our most basic needs must be given to us as a gift. We must be like Peter and acknowledge, “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out” (Romans 7:18). It is easy to ignore God’s Word, and when we do, we leave behind our heavenly riches. When we ignore hearing and learning His Word, Scripture teaches us this problem we have is because this is all we can do. So, we must be taught by His Word, because without it, even our earthly needs have no meaning. How do we take it all in?
We take it in, like Jesus instructs Peter. Peter knew he didn’t deserve Jesus in the same boat as him. While Peter sees himself as this great sinner and we have seen ourselves as great sinners, the message of the kingdom of God Jesus is preaching, is a message of love and He brings that to him. And 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. Jesus reveals His powerful Word as it tells Peter how he won’t fear his new career to catch people. This isn’t the same as catching and killing fish. He will be going after dead souls and through the power of Jesus’ Word he will bring them back to life again. To turn their hearts, the powerful Word of God reveals His guidance. Peter and his brother would have prayed, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105). Through prayer and as Jesus preached from the boat, the kingdom of God comes and changes the hearts of the people as it clearly did for Peter in that moment.
By being asked to follow Him, Peter has begun his journey of understanding what God is going to do for Him. He just watched as his earthly needs were met in a miraculous way. Jesus reveals to him that his family will be cared for without him working. If Jesus can take care of his earthly needs, then he will be able to grasp the heavenly riches that wait for those Jesus will call. Here lies an important point of our text. Peter could have only been worried about his earthly needs. Maybe this would have boosted his fishing career. Instead, through a great miracle for a great sinner, Jesus reveals the great gift of souls being brought into the kingdom of God. Souls that will experience great riches and it isn’t because they have done anything to deserve them. The eternal blessing is the reason Peter can follow the Lord, for it is what is eternal that matters. Peter will soon see how great it is to hear the Word mad flesh. He will see in Him his very salvation.
Through the hearing of the Word, you too see in Jesus your very salvation. As this news brings you joy, the world would rather you think that this doesn’t matter. You know that your earthly needs will be taken care of because Jesus says they will. St. James writes about the patience you will need. Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains (James 5:7). Like the fisherman in their boats, you never know when the Lord is going to provide you with what is His. He knows what you need, and He gives it to you when you need it. Since He will care for you, then your focus can be on His message of heavenly riches. First the message points out your wickedness. While you or anyone else doesn’t want to hear this, it is through hearing this that you then have in your heart a proper fear like Peter. With the proper fear your heart has changed and then hear the comfort in your Savior’s voice.
The comfort you hear is how you don’t need to be afraid about what is to come. You don’t need to be afraid when you are called upon to share the Gospel message. This comfort and guidance is heard even in the Old Testament. The Prophet Isaiah wrote, fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand (Isaiah 41:10). The righteous right hand of God did not worry about what was coming in His life. To uphold His people, He would be held high on the cross. To catch people alive and to follow the Savior is to put your trust in what you hear in His Word. In His glorious death, He has unlocked for you the heavenly riches of forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. In the Word you are hearing today, you have gone to heavenly riches from earthly needs.
When you think you have the difference between the two, the devil and the world will work against you to confuse you again. You know you have earthly needs, and you know they are given to you when you need them the most. From there, you hear what Jesus’ Word says. “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). The kingdom of God is your overall need. It brings you blessings in this life and in the world to come. When it looks like the world has closed in, you go to where you find guidance. Through the continual hearing of His Word, you see the great miracle, not of a great number of fish from nets into boats, but of your heart changed through the Word. With your new heart, you know you have what you need to help others. The Word is living and breathing. As it gives you and all who share it life, this life will last forever, and you will store it up as heavenly riches. Amen.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, forevermore. Amen.
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