Closer Still: The Call to a True Relationship with Jesus

Jesus invites us beyond mere belief into a genuine friendship where we share everything with Him. This relationship begins with small steps of trust, as seen in Simon Peter's story of following Jesus' instruction to fish again after a fruitless night. True friendship with Jesus develops through spending time together in Scripture, prayer, silence, and service. As we deepen this relationship, we're transformed—our prayers change, we see others differently, and we become more compassionate, forgiving, and gracious. The goal isn't just reaching heaven but becoming so full of Jesus that others glimpse God through our lives.

Transcript

So this morning, I want to start out by asking you to take a second and think of your best friend. Just. I don't want to hear anything. I just want you to take a second. Picture their face.

Think of the last time you guys spent good quality time together.

So how many of you in here actually have, like, a best friend? And I don't mean like, oh, I have, like, this group of best friends. I mean a singular best friend. Somebody that is better than the rest. You have that person in your life.

Good.

So oftentimes, I think we neglect relationships to an extent that we don't have a best friend, somebody that we share everything with. Um, but I think it's important to have somebody in our lives that we give every, like, facility to. Like, you know, everything about my deepest, darkest fears, you know, everything about my life. You know, the things I pray for, the things I struggle with, the things I worry about. I don't think we have enough of those relationships in our lives.

You know, people that we can share our embarrassing stories with. The one, like, person in our lives that will actually finish our sentences for us. There is just something special about best friends, right? The friends that we don't have to worry about spilling our tea to. These are the friends that we laugh with constantly.

And even though there might be times where we disagree or even sometimes in our relationships where things get hard and we fight or we bicker, we always end up making up, right? And when you do, you go right back to the same kind of relationship that you had before. I want to ask you today, gently but honestly, how many of us feel like we have that kind of relationship with Jesus?

I think that we have sometimes shrunk our faith down to something so small. Just believe in Jesus and you'll get your ticket to heaven. And while belief is certainly a huge part of what faith is, Jesus calls us to something different, something deeper. He invites us into a relationship with him. The Gospel of Luke in chapter five tells us about a day on the water with Simon Peter.

I want us to read that story this morning. It comes to us from the Book of Luke, chapter 5, verses 1 through 11. It'll be on the screen, but if you have your Bibles, I invite you to pull those out. It just. It makes sense to underline, to highlight, go back and write some notes if you have that ability.

But let's take a second and read the Word of God for us today. Verse 1 says, One day as Jesus was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God, he saw at the water's edge two boats left there by fishermen who were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and he asked him to put out a little bit from shore. Then he sat down and he taught the people 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, master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets. When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boats to come and to help them. And they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.

When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus knees and he 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.

From now on, you will fish for people. So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything, and followed him.

In this moment, Peter wasn't looking for Jesus, right? Peter was doing what Peter always did after a night out on the lake. You come back and you rinse out your nets, you check them, make sure there are no holes. He wasn't looking for Jesus. He was probably exhausted and definitely, I think, discouraged.

And then Jesus shows up and interrupts his normal. He interrupts his unfruitful morning with an invitation into full participation in what God was going to do. He says, let's get in your boat. Let's go out just a little way so that I can teach these people. And Simon has no reason to do what this unknown man asks of him.

But he says, because it's you that ask, Lord. I will.

So he pushes his boat back off the shore, and he anchored it far enough away where the people could still hear and see him clearly. And then Jesus just sits down in the boat and begins to teach. Now, we don't know from Scripture what Jesus was teaching from the boat. And we don't know for how long Jesus spoke. But the next part of the story is immediately Jesus asking Simon to go out.

Let's go fish.

And I think that's because Jesus probably sensed Simon's discouragement due to his inability to catch fish that night. And then Jesus encourages him to change the situation so think about it for a minute. For a fisherman in Jesus time, coming home without fish was kind of a big deal, right? Not just because you didn't have stories about, you know, the giant. It was this big.

You don't have those stories. But after a long night of fishing, you didn't have the opportunity not just to talk about the bait you used or the number of fish you caught. For a fisherman coming home in that period of time without fish, it was actually meant big trouble. These weren't sport fishermen. The discouragement that Simon was facing was due to the fact that without any fish, his family might not have been able to eat that next day.

Scripture also tells us that Simon's fishing was done on a bit of a larger scale, right? That he had partners, James and John, who would also become disciples along with Simon. But when Simon didn't catch any fish, Simon's partners also would not have any money. They couldn't take their fish to go sell in the marketplace. They couldn't feed their families too.

There was a responsibility that Simon felt not just for his own family, but for those who partnered with him as well. For fishermen, not to catch fish was a big deal. And so Jesus tells him in that moment, let's go out. You know what? I'm done teaching.

Let's go catch some fish. Let down your nets again. And then what happens next is absolutely crazy. The nets began bursting, boats almost sinking, and Simon, face down in the bottom of the boat, confessing, I'm not worthy.

But in that moment, Jesus didn't say, you're right, you're not worthy. He calls to Simon, follow me. And then Jesus promises to make Simon a fisher of people. Jesus doesn't say, believe in me and everything is going to be great. He doesn't say, look to me and admire me.

I am your now, your Israelite savior. Instead, he says, join me in the work that I'm about to do.

And this whole story of Peter being introduced to Jesus and being called into discipleship, this is kind of how true relationships begin, with getting to know someone well enough to trust them. Do you trust me? Then drop down your nets. I don't know you. I want to know you.

I'll do it this time. We'll see how it works out, right? And in this moment, Jesus proves himself to Simon, and Simon begins to develop a relationship with Jesus that would change the whole world.

At just 26 years old, Martin Luther King Jr. Was a relatively unknown pastor in Montgomery, Alabama. When Rosa Parks was arrested, local leaders asked him to lead a Boycott to support a movement toward justice for black men and women in the South. King later admitted he was hesitant. He had a young family, no experience in public leadership, and he knew that the risks for a black man to lead a movement in the south was enormous.

But he felt a deep spiritual nudge to push out into deeper water. As he says in his own words, after receiving a threatening phone call late one night, he sat in his kitchen table and he prayed. He said he heard an inner voice say, stand up for righteousness and stand up for truth, and God will be on your side forever. That moment became a turning point. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Stepped into the unknown, and God met him there. The boycott lasted over a year, and it launched a movement that changed America. Because of that prompting of the Holy Spirit, Martin Luther King, Jr. Along with others, would lead our nation to racial equality and a more equitable America for our black brothers and sisters. All because he trusted God enough to wade out into the deeper waters of justice.

He trusted God because of his relationship with God. And so I ask you, do you feel that you trust God in the same way? Do you trust Jesus enough to recognize his voice? Do you know him well enough to follow where God leads you?

It's really hard for us to be close to someone if we're not willing to spend time with them. We see here in Simon's journey from boat decks to mountaintops to foot washing basins, to resurrection meals, to changed names from Simon to Peter, he and the rest of the disciples didn't just believe in Jesus. They followed Jesus right. They had an experience that none of us will ever be able to truly have. They listened to Jesus.

They questioned him. They laughed with him, they wept with him. They shared meals with him. And they shared special moments with him too. They weren't just disciples doing their master's bidding.

They weren't just followers kept at a distance. These 12 were Jesus closest friends on earth. They knew Jesus well enough that they felt they could trust him with their lives. They believed in his words enough that they recognized him at work. Even when the Spirit fell after Jesus was dead and resurrected after he had ascended into heaven, they knew that Jesus was at work pulling the strings behind what happened that first Pentecost.

And we know that story because we talked about it just a couple weeks ago in Acts, chapter two of how those same disciples walked out of hiding when they recognized Jesus at work.

Acts chapter 2, verses 29 through 47 says this. This is Simon talking. This is Peter preaching. He says, fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried in his tomb is here to this day. But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne.

Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see Dec. God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are witnesses of it. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said, the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet. Therefore let all Israel be assured of this.

God has made this Jesus whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah. When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, brothers, what shall we do? Peter replied, repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and for your children, for those who are all far off, for all whom the Lord our God will call.

With many other words, he warned them and he pleaded with them, save yourselves from this corrupt generation. Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about 3,000 were added to their number that day. They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common.

They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who are being saved. Peter, Simon, the same man whose life was changed that day on the beach, is now preaching the resurrection to crowds.

And 3,000 people say, we want this same experience with Jesus too. Why? Because Peter knew Jesus and Jesus had kind of rubbed off on him. So think for a second. I'd like you to think of your best friend again.

Do you guys talk alike when you get together? Does your sense of humor seem to be the same? Do you laugh at the same dirty jokes? Do you act similar when you get together?

Often friends begin to talk like each other, joke like each other, think like each other, act like one Another. And the same can happen with us in our relationship with Jesus. But it takes time in scripture, it takes time in prayer, it takes time in silence. It takes time service, Jesus tells us. In the Book of John, chapter 1423, it says, Jesus replied, anyone who loves me will obey my teaching.

Not just anyone who hears about me, anybody who knows me from a difference. It's anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Jesus is telling us that if we love him, he will just build a relationship with us that feels right. It feels like home.

So let's get honest with each other here for a minute.

What is it that's keeping you from spending time with Jesus?

Can you name the distractions, the doubts or the hesitations that keep you from going deeper in your relationship with Jesus who loves you and wants you to know him?

Friends, I know that if you're anything like me, we fill our days with notifications, news feed and noise.

But Jesus, he often slipped away into the wilderness to pray. Not because he had to, but because he wanted to. Jesus wanted to continue to deepen his relationship with the divine every chance that he could. Jesus wanted to stay close with God and recharge his spiritual battery. Being intentional to talk with God, he was plugged into the source.

Scripture reports him going off regularly to be alone with God, spending time in prayer and fasting. This is how Jesus remained connected with God. And if we want to be like that same Jesus that we say we love, we've got to do something similar. And it might look different for every one of us. It might be times of us spending, you know, in scripture, might be times for us going on a prayerful retreat.

It might be times for us to just sit in silent. It might look like us spending time in prayer. But the more time we spend with Jesus, the more the Spirit shapes who we are. And soon our prayers sound a lot less like God, fix this situation, and a lot more like God. Shape me.

Soon we see others differently. Soon we begin to serve people more compassionately. We forgive more freely. We allow more grace into situations where previously there was judgment and anger. The people we are shifts and we begin to look and act more like Jesus.

When we work to deepen our relationship with Jesus, we become more like Jesus. In the Book of Romans, chapter 12:1 and 2, it says this. I urge you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your Reasonable service of worship. Do not be conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is good and acceptable and perfect will of God. This scripture isn't just asking us to add God to our to do list.

It says, offer your very lives as a living. Sacrifice all of your lives, the tired parts, the hopeful parts, the messy parts, the gifted parts, the broken parts.

When you seek to be close to Jesus, your life itself becomes worship. Not just your Sunday morning, but your Monday afternoons, your Wednesday coffee run, your Friday frustrations, your Saturday yard work, all of these things.

So today I would like each of you to consider what it would do for your relationship with Jesus if you begin to intentionally grow closer to him. What are you willing to do to grow spiritually in your relationship with Jesus? Are you willing to lay down 20 minutes a day? 10 minutes? 5 minutes, 30 minutes?

Are you willing to turn off the noise and distractions and to truly listen to what the Spirit is asking of you? Are you willing to say to yourself, jesus, I want more than belief. I want true relationship with you? And then listen well enough to answer God's call into what that looks like for you individually.

As I have repeatedly said over the last seven years in this church, our goal as followers of Jesus isn't just to get to heaven. That's a neat goal, but it's pretty lame.

Our goal is to be so full of Jesus, so full of his grace and his truth and his love, that others outside of this room get to catch a glimpse of God just by seeing us living out our calling.

That others get to see that our faith makes a difference in the lives of not just us, but our families, our friends and the world.

So this week I'm going to challenge you. Read some dang scripture, friends. Not just to check a box. Not just because I'm asking you to do it, but because it changes us when we read scripture. Pray not just to blah blah blah at Jesus, right?

But pray to listen, serve. Not just because I'm telling you to do it, not just because Jesus told you to do it, but because it's who we are becoming as people who want to be like Jesus in the world.

And I want to remind you, those 12 disciples who were Jesus closest friends didn't become the closest to Jesus overnight, right?

They became like Jesus because they walked closer to Jesus still, day by day.

So today I invite you to take one additional step. So whatever you're doing in your spiritual life, do one additional thing. Then tomorrow morning, do one more and before long you'll find that your story and us as your church are echoing the voice of the One who still says, come, follow me.

Friends, this morning before you leave, I have something I'd like to send home with you. It's just a simple sheet of paper with some practical ideas on how you can grow closer in your relationship to Jesus. You don't have to take one, but I invite you to grab one before you leave. They're going to be on the back here. Currently they're under water bottles and stuff on the soundboard, but I'll go back at the back after worship and I'll hand one to you if you want one.

Don't feel obligated to take one. It's just a list of some practical ideas and ways that we can live out our faith and deepen our relationship with Jesus. This week I encourage you find a way to go deeper. Let's pray.