HOW TO TURN FAILURE INTO SUCCESS Luke 5: 1-11
Now, I know that fishing for most of us would be considered a hobby or a time of leisure, but in our text we are looking at some men for whom fishing was their job; it was what they labored in.
In our text, we read about some fellows who had been fishing all day and without any success. They didn’t talk about the one that got away, because they had all gotten away!
HAVE YOU EVER FAILED AT SOMETHING THAT YOU HAVE TRIED TO DO? It is a miserable feeling.
Peter in our text had failed in his laboring.
Peter and his friends have fished all night, but they have caught nothing.
On the next day, as Peter was washing his nets on the sea shore, and he was feeling very tired and discouraged. Jesus comes along and tells him that He would like to use his boat as a platform from which to speak.
So Peter allows Jesus to use his boat. After Jesus finishes he tells Peter, “Let us go fishing.”
Peter reacted and said, “Master, we have toiled all night and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.”
Peter went fishing and caught such a haul of fishes that he was astonished.
This story teaches us about failure and what to do when our best is not good enough.
On their first fishing trip, their labored yield nothing. On the second trip, they caught more fish than they had ever caught before. It was the same lake, the same boat, the same nets, and the same people fishing.
So what made the difference? There are actually three differences between the two fishing expeditions, and these three differences give us simple principles to apply when we desire to rebound from our failure.
I. ALLOW CHRIST’S PRESENCE IN YOUR LIFE
Get Jesus in your boat.
He is in the boat this time (3). It is the same lake, same boat, the same nets, but this time Jesus is present.
This time Peter was not going at it alone.
Whatever starts with “we” is destined to come to nothing, unless the “we” includes HIM.
John 15:5 “... for without me ye can do nothing.” When Jesus showed up things changed quickly.
Are you including Jesus into your plans, your business, your home? If not, it is destined for failure.
All too often we try to separate the secular and the spiritual.
However, the truth is God will bless anything we give Him, and the more we give Him, the more He will bless.
There is something about having Jesus in your boat that takes the fear of failure and reduces your worries about the results. Peter made Jesus his fishing partner, and the results were incredible. He caught more fish that he had ever caught on his own.
Marriages have been put back together when Jesus is brought into the marriage.
Why did Peter fail on the first fishing expedition? Surely it wasn’t that he did not know how or where to fish. These men were experts. They were professional fishermen and knew how to fish and where to find the fish, and yet they fished all night long and caught nothing. The word "nothing" means "not even one." Their failure had nothing to do with how they were fishing or where they were fishing. Their failure came about because the Lord wanted to teach them a much needed lesson. That lesson is that without Him, we can accomplish nothing!
Here were the same people, in the same boat, using the same nets, but with Jesus in the boat with them.
HIS PRESENCE MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE.
These fishermen were unable to catch anything, although they had used all of their skills, abilities and time, until Jesus got in their boat. The Lord was teaching a lesson that we all need to learn; there is failure without Him.
We may mend our nets and use all our skill and knowledge of fishing, but these on their own can only fail.
A. To Labor Without Him Will Bring Disappointment
There is disappointment that comes with that failure. In our service to the Lord, we can have all of the tools for greatness only to find the disappointments and the frustration of not seeing God’s blessings. The blessings of ministry come from having Him. We need Him. We must have Him.
B. To Labor Without Him Will Bring Discouragement
Washing nets which have caught no fish is not any fun.
The Lord’s presence however changed everything.
II. ACCEPT CHRIST’S PLAN FOR YOUR LIFE
Verse 4, "Now when He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, ’Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.’ But Simon answered and said to Him, ’Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing .."
Here is a fisherman being told by a carpenter where to fish! Everybody knew that fish were caught near the shore at night, and not in the deep water during the day! Can you imagine what his fishing competitors would have thought had they seen Peter doing something that foolish?
I can hear Peter thinking, "If I do what Jesus the Carpenter says, I will look foolish! I’ll be laughed at!"
Peter’s instinct and experience might have told him that the fish are caught in the shallow water and not in the deep... and at dawn and not the middle of the day. But that was when and where the Lord sent him and the fish to meet in the deep water.
But look what he said in verse 5b, "nevertheless (that changes everything .. now watch this .. Simon Peter is about to make a clear break from his past) at thy word I will let down the net." In other words, "because You say so, I will do it."
Jesus told Peter WHERE to fish, WHEN to fish, and HOW to fish. When Christ is guiding your life, you will find success.
WITHOUT HIM:
A. The timing was defective
B. The toil was draining
C. The take was deficient
III. ACT ON CHRIST’S PROMISES FOR YOUR LIFE
Jesus made a promise. He did not tell the disciples to let down their nets to try to catch fish; He told them to put out their nets for a catch of fish. In other words, Jesus was issuing a promise. The promise was that there would be a catch. And what a catch it would be!
You can rest on the promises of God.
Build your life on the promises of God. Be like the wise man who built his house on the rock.
Matthew 7:24 “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock.”
Philippians 4:13
Proverbs 3:5,6
Matthew 6:33
God always blesses obedience. Their boat was filled! Their hearts were filled!
By the way, God can work in spite of our doubts, if we will obey Him anyway “Nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net” instead of “the nets!”
Peter thought he knew more about fishing than Jesus did. What was the use of letting down "nets" when they had tried to catch fish all night and had failed? How like Peter we are! We give to our Lord only partial instead of complete obedience.
Partial obedience always causes us to suffer loss, whether of fish or any other blessing. It is not obeying God completely that cost us. With one net, God loaded two boats full. What could God have done with all of Peter’s nets. God desires to bless even little faith.
Jesus once said, "According to your faith be it unto you," Matt. 9:29.
A A Miracle Involving The Fish
When Peter and the other men obeyed Jesus, they enclosed so many fish that their nets threatened to break. They called to their partners, and so many fish were loaded into those boats that both boats began to sink. Amazing! They were fishing in the wrong place, at the wrong time of day and still they experienced success! It didn’t make sense, but there was no denying the results!
God is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.
Unbelief always causes us to suffer some loss, whether of ish or any other blessing. IT IS NOT GIVING ALL TO CHRIST THAT COST US.
1. The catch was GREAT
They were "astonished." They had never seen anything like this
2. The catch was of GRACE
They didn’t deserve it.
3. The catch was of GOD
The only way to explain it was to admit God did it.
B. A Miracle Involving The Fishermen
When Peter saw what had happened he called for others to come and help him.
How people respond to success is one indication of true character. Instead of claiming the valuable catch for himself, he called for his partners to share it.
When the others saw what Jesus had done, those rough, crude fishermen fell at the feet of Jesus in humble worship! They were amazed at His power and they glorified Him for what He had done.
A great catch of fish was enclosed and the second boat was needed to bring the fish ashore. But before the boats make it back, Peter had a life-changing experience. He uttered an amazing sentence to the Lord, “Depart from me: for I am a sinful man!” Why would Peter talk to Jesus that way? Most of us are so preoccupied with how valuable we are to Jesus that it would never cross our minds to make a statement like Peter’s. Up until this point Peter has been focusing on what he could do for Jesus. He had offered Jesus his boat, his time, his nets, but now he realized that he had nothing to offer Jesus. The tables have turned; the question is not “What do I have to offer Jesus?” but “Why would Jesus even want me around Him?” Jesus wanted Peter to come to grips with his need for Jesus rather than Jesus’ need for Peter.
Conclusion
Would it not be wonderful if we would come to grips with our need of Jesus as Peter did!
“WHEN PETER SAW IT...”
PETER SAW WHAT WOULD HAPPEN WHEN HE STEPPED BACK AND LET JESUS TAKE OVER.
DO YOU SEE IT?
