Gone Fishing

Intro: Tonight Lord willing I would like to talk to you about receiving your blessing. From the text I see three ways in which we may rob ourselves of the blessings of God in our life. Many of you here tonight have been toiling day after day and to a veil came up empty. You are ready to give it up and pack it in and live with defeat. But I’m here tonight to tell you not to give up; don’t go to the shore of complacency and defeat right yet but in Jesus name go out a little deeper and there you’ll receive what you’ve been looking for in the shallow. Turn to your neighbor and tell them “Lets go fishing”.

I. In verse 2 of the text we are given our first point of missing our BLESSING and that is Defeat and complacency.

A. As we see they are standing by the shores of Gennesaret or more commonly known to us as the Sea of Galilee. We find the fishermen washing their nets after a night of no luck as recorded in verse 5.

1. The washing of the nets here show a sign of defeat for these fishermen, they had fished all night and came up empty.

2. For many of you, you can relate to these fishermen you’ve toiled all night praying seeking God for your blessing, and for some you’ve been seeking for days, weeks, months, and for some evening years. To veil you are still empty, and ready to give it up.

3. You have tried it all you have knocked, and you’ve seeked, you prayed in tongues, you’ve wept, sought the council of your Pastor, read all the books on receiving your blessing, watched all the miracle services on TV, or evening tried to get to some and still nothing. Just as these fishermen did all they knew how to do.

B. You have come to the place where you’ve done it all and now your ready to live with defeat your ready to wash your nets and live with the fact you failed.

1. In your mind you think it was you it must a sin in your life and that God is judging me because my past. I’m not good enough and I must be a failure.

2. NO! I say that is a devils lie for in Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places]. 1 Peter 5:8 ¶ Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: He sees you struggling and like a lion hunting a weak animal he makes his attack filling your mind with doubt and anger toward God telling you to just give up just be complacent, and Satan then begins to tell you “that when you try to seek God he pushes you off and doesn’t care about you look how he blesses others you know you are better then them and yet they get there’s while you get nothing, to tell you the truth its an impossible request He can’t do things like that.” But I want you to know that Satan is liar and that he is not a lion just as stated in 1 Peter 5:8 but like a lion that means he is not he is still that serpent in the Garden there is but one lion and that is the Lion of Judah Jesus Christ.

3. I say don’t believe those lies for it is written 1 Peter 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. And that in Romans 2:11 For there is no respect of persons with God. And that in Luke 18:27 The things which are impossible with men are possible with God. He does care for you and what He is doing for another He will do it for you; God doesn’t play favorites with His children.

4. Now that you know that it wasn’t you and that all efforts and attempts couldn’t change the situation God now has you in place where He wants you.

II. Cause now Jesus can get on board.

A. In verse 2 we see two ships and in verse 3 we see Jesus board one of those ships and it just happened to be Simon Peters. I don’t believe it was chance that Jesus chose Peters boat that day. I believe it was his day.

1. John 15:16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and [that] your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.