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What’s the most significant thing that’s happened to you in your life so far?

A young guy, around student age, went through a shattering experience that changed his life for ever. His name was Simon. This happened a long time ago – about 2000 years – but even so we have a vivid account and its here in the Bible. Please get a look at this if you can. You’ll find Luke’s Gospel chapter 5 there, and we’re looking at the start of that chapter, verses 1-11. It’s the section with the heading ‘The Calling of the First Disciples’.

Simon’s shattering experience was a life-changing encounter with Christ – and that’s my title this evening. I see three stages in the experience he went through, and that we need to go through too. These three stages are: first, listening to what Jesus says; secondly, experiencing what Jesus does; and then thirdly, becoming who Jesus calls us to be.

First, LISTENING TO WHAT JESUS SAYS

This account is so vivid you can almost see it in your mind’s eye. Verse 1:

One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the people crowding round him and listening to the word of God… (v1)

That’s where it all starts – listening to Jesus at a distance. But why are they crowding round him and listening?

Like Mo Farah running himself from relative obscurity to global fame on a hot night in August, Jesus had recently burst into the public consciousness from his obscure life in a northern town, not because of his speed around a track but because of his astonishing life-giving power.

He was throwing evil spirits out of people. He was doing mind-blowing miracles of healing in large numbers with just a touch – he’d cause havoc at the Paralympic Games. Even more important than that, though, was what he was saying. He was a riveting speaker. If you look a bit further back to 4v32 you’ll see that:

They were amazed at his teaching, because his message had authority. (4v32)

Why so much authority? Because this is God speaking. And if the healings don’t blow our minds, that should. Look at that little phrase Luke uses. What’s this crowd doing as Jesus speaks to them? They’re ‘listening to the word of God’. When Jesus speaks, God is speaking, because Jesus is God in the flesh. No wonder the crowd’s gripped.

Mind you, being in the middle of that crowd was very safe. You could easily keep your distance from this dangerously challenging man. You could be non-committal, enjoy the spectacle, and soak up the atmosphere. It is easy to hide in a crowd. It’s even possible to sit among a crowd of 50,000 at St James’s Park and not be a Magpies fan. Just.

And of course it can be like that coming to church in a crowd. It’s very easy to keep your distance from Jesus – be non-committal.

Whatever the reason you’re here, you’re very welcome. But I would ask you to do this. Please do listen to what Jesus is saying to you. Push through to the front of the crowd, as it were, rather than just loitering at the back.

How do we hear the voice of Jesus nowadays? Through the Bible. Through hearing the Bible explained. So please don’t just melt away when the crowd disperses and shut Jesus out of your life. Come back. And keep coming.

So, to start with, listening to what Jesus says happens at a distance. But next, it gets up close. This is what happens to Simon when he lends Jesus his boat. Verses 2-3: with the people crowding around him…

[Jesus] saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat. (v2-3)

When you’re at the front of the crowd, whether by accident or design, as Simon was, then you find that Jesus starts to make demands on your life. Simon was OK about that. He wasn’t being asked for anything much. Just the loan of a boat and a few hours of his time. The cost was low. Just a bit of inconvenience.

It’s like his housemates ask him to come with them for a pint and he has to say no because he’s decided to try out Focus because he went along to one of the JPC Welcome Services at the start of term and they were plugging it. But he’ll just go once or twice – see what’s goes on. No long term commitment.

Lending Jesus your boat, so to speak, isn’t too demanding. But Jesus still asks you to do it. So if you are a student who hasn’t been along to Focus, give it a go. Details are on that student leaflet.

You start at a distance; you get up close; then it get’s personal. Verses 4-5:

When [Jesus] had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.’ Simon answered, ‘Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything… (v4-5)

You can almost hear the pause. What’s he going to say? Will he blurt out, ‘What do you know about it? Stick to your carpentry, and leave the fishing to us.’ He doesn’t. He bites his tongue. Jesus is getting through to him. He knows he’s dealing with someone tougher than he is. So he says:

… ‘Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets for a catch.’ (v5)

In our lives, when Jesus begins to command, it gets more costly and demanding. Maybe it’s from this point on that you begin to call yourself a Christian. There’s a lot you don’t understand, but there’s no going back. Jesus has taken hold of your life.

Maybe now it dawns on you that you can’t just carry on turning up to that Bible study group only when you feel like it. You realise that these people are your brothers and sisters in Christ, and you have to be there for them when they need you.

So that’s this ‘listening to what Jesus says’ stage. It starts at a distance. Then it gets up close. Then personal.

The next stage of Simon’s encounter with Jesus here I’ve called…

Secondly, EXPERIENCING WHAT JESUS DOES

This experience is one of being overwhelmed by Jesus, then frightened of him, then forgiven by him.

So to start with, the experience of what Jesus does is one of being overwhelmed. Verses 6-7:

When they had done so [that is, gone out deep and chucked the nets out again], they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signalled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. (v6-7)

Simon saw the power of Jesus, not at a distance - from the crowd - but at work in his own life, through him. This really was up close and personal. Suddenly Simon had a glimpse of who he was really dealing with. And it hit him hard.

That kind of shocking realisation of just who we’re dealing with when we start to obey Jesus comes in all kinds of ways. How doesn’t matter.

I saw a greater miracle than Simon’s catch of fish, first hand. When I was a student, I helped to lead a small group for a few guys who were interested in discussing the Christian faith. One of them was a convinced and articulate atheist. A few months later, he was totally sold out for Jesus. He still is. I saw this happen in front of my eyes. I saw the power of Jesus at closer quarters than I’d ever done before. And it was quietly overwhelming – not just for the other guy, but for me too.

And it’s not comfortable. Because being overwhelmed by Jesus is followed by being frightened. Look how Simon reacted. Verses 8-10:

When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, ‘Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!’ For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, ‘Don’t be afraid…’ (v8-10)

Clearly, Simon was afraid.

Closer knowledge of someone usually brings some degree of disillusionment. And it’s not just that celebrity who turns out to be far from the superhero you once thought. For instance, the longer you’re married the harder it gets to make the effort to hide what you’re really like. And even when you do, your wife sees right through you.

And please don’t even think of asking my children about me. It comforted me when I heard that the children of the most powerful man in the world, President Obama, described him as ‘snore-y and stinky’ first thing in the morning.

But what’s so startling is that with Jesus what happens is the exact opposite of that normal experience. The closer you get to him, the more frighteningly awesome he is. When you glimpse the reality of who Jesus is, you don’t think ‘Oh no, another hero bites the dust.’ You think ‘Oh no, this is seriously scary, this means he knows what I’m like inside. I’m in deep trouble now.’

The blazing light of Jesus shines into the dark corners of your life, and you realise that it’s filthy in there. It’s not fit for him to see. All you can do, in the quiet of your own heart, by faith, is to fall at the feet of Jesus and say, ‘Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man. I am sinful woman.’

But when we fall at his feet, what then? This is where miracle is piled on miracle. Because being overwhelmed and frightened is followed by being forgiven. We’ve already seen what Jesus said – verse 10:

Then Jesus said to Simon, ‘Don’t be afraid…’ (v10)

‘Don’t be afraid…’ Jesus knows how deeply Simon’s sinfulness penetrates into every corner of his heart and life. He could have said, with every justification, ‘Simon, you’re right. Your life stinks. Get out of my sight and don’t come back.’ Instead he says, ‘Don’t be afraid.’ And wrapped up in those few words are the gifts that Jesus always gives to those who fall at his feet and worship him. Forgiveness. Acceptance. Comfort. Encouragement. And a spur to change.

Apparently the average student starting this year will graduate with debt of around £25,000. That’s nothing to the unpayable debt we owe Jesus. But he forgives us our debt. And he can do that because he paid it off himself at the cost of his life when he died on that cross for our sin.

We fall at his feet, ashamed and fearful. He picks us up, and forgives us. That is grace.

So that’s the process of encountering Jesus one to one, face to face, by faith. That’s what happens when we experience what Jesus does. We see his power. We fall in fear of him. And we receive his grace. It’s an experience of being overwhelmed, frightened, and forgiven.
Then the final stage of this life-changing encounter with Christ is this:

Thirdly, BECOMING WHO JESUS CALLS US TO BE

As we listen to the words of Jesus and experience what he does, we are called to be servants of the Master, subjects of the King, and followers of the Leader.

First, servants of the Master. Verse 10 again – look how Jesus continues:

Then Jesus said to Simon, ‘Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men.’ (v10)

Jesus introduces us to his plan for our lives, and we realise that he’s the Master, we’re the servants.

You realise it’s not just a matter of coming to church and belonging to Focus. What Jesus wants is way more radical than that. He has a plan for the whole of your life.

‘From now on,’ says Jesus to Simon, ‘you will catch men.’ In other words, ‘I’m going to use you to bring other people into my kingdom, and make them my followers too. That’s my purpose for your life.’ Not for a week, or a term, or a year, but for life.

So not only are we called to be servants of the Master, we are also called to be subjects of the King. It’s not just that we obey him. It’s that we belong to him. We leave everything for him. You can see that in verse 11:

Jesus said to Simon, ‘Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men.’ So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything…

When Jesus begins to rule our lives, then inevitably we see that there are some things that’ll get in the way if we hang on to them. So we have to let go.

Maybe that’s a matter of how we use our time. Maybe something that was once our all-consuming number one passion has to start playing second-fiddle to Jesus’ plan for us. Maybe we know something in our lives is wrong and it has to change because Jesus is master now.

Here’s a story I heard. A man at an airport buys a bag of mini-doughnuts and a cup of coffee. It’s very busy and he finds a seat at a little table with another man sitting opposite, puts down his bags and settles to eat his doughnuts. He takes out a doughnut and eats it. As he does so, without a word the man opposite reaches into the bag, takes a doughnut himself, and eats it. He can hardly believe it. And he’s too embarrassed to say anything or even catch the other man’s eye, so he ignores it. He pulls the bag towards him, and takes another doughnut. Eats it. Takes another. Then the other man, without looking at him, reaches over, pulls the bag towards him, shamelessly takes a doughnut, then pushes the bag back. This goes on, with our man seething inside. After a while the other man gets up to leave. Our man thinks, ‘Getting rid of him at last!’ There’s one doughnut left. As he stands to leave, the other man reaches into the bag, takes out the last doughnut, breaks it in two, eats half, puts the remaining half back into the bag, pushes it back to him, and leaves. Our man is furious. This is unbelievable! Anyway, the time comes for him to go too, so he sorts himself out, bends down to pick up his luggage… And there in his bag on the floor he sees his own unopened bag of doughnuts. The doughnuts he’d been eating had belonged to the other man. It was the other man who had the right to be angry. But instead he’d been generous.

We think our lives belong to us, to do with what we like. But they don’t. We belong to Jesus. We are subjects of the King. When we see that, there’s nothing in our lives that we won’t surrender to him. Becoming who he calls us to be means being ready to leave everything for him. And then what?

Well finally, it means we become followers of the Leader. Verse 11:

So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him. (v11)

To follow Jesus is not only a matter of ideas, though our thinking matters immensely. It’s not only morality, though how we live is crucial. It’s knowing the man who is God up close and personal. It’s a living relationship with our risen Saviour and Lord.

There, then, are the three stages that Simon went through. Our experiences with Christ are as varied as we are because we are talking about a personal relationship here. But in one way or another Jesus takes each one of us through those same stages. Listening to what Jesus says. Experiencing what he does. Becoming who he calls us to be. What stage are you at?

Certain times in our lives are critically important. Being a student is one of those critical times. Starting as a student is a critical moment. The whole direction of your life can be formed in even a few days and weeks, depending on the road you take at this major junction.

Many in that crowd around Jesus no doubt just melted away. Many kept their distance from Jesus. Simon and his friends got in close, and they got in deep. Please, for your own sake, do the same yourself.