INTRODUCTION
On the Great Barrier Reef off the east coast of Australia, there is obviously an abundance of fish. They are all shapes and sizes. It’s a fisherman’s paradise. There is only one problem, it is a conservation area and no fishing is allowed. Maybe you have experienced the same frustration at times.
It raises the question "Has a conservation order been placed on our local district. No fishing, No soul winning, No witnessing?" In many ways it would seem so. Yet Christ has called us to be "fishers of people" so what are we to do?
Have we forgotten how to fish for souls?
I) FISHING TAKES SKILL
Even the most well equipped fisherman who knows just where and when to go fishing can turn up empty handed. Look at Peter, he’d been out all night and had caught nothing. So Jesus tells him to put out into deep water and let down the nets once more. Peter was not yet a disciple of Jesus yet he put his trust in him and set out again.
It struck me as I was reading Luke 5 that Jesus told Peter to specifically put out into deep water. He could have said "Just throw the nets in from the shore" and still provided them with a big catch. However, there seems to be a metaphor here. Let me explain.
There was a point when I was a young Christian where I could have counted my non Christian friends on one hand. I’d say that this put me well and truly in the shallow water. Please don’t misunderstand me, I really value my Christian friends but the Lord has called us to put out into deep water. It pays to pause and take stock of our own personal lives at regular intervals because it’s so easy to get tied up in the practicalities and administration of Church life and forget who we are actually ministering to.
Jesus has called us to put out into deep water and this is reason enough to do so.
You may believe that you are already in deep water. Maybe Church on Sunday is the only time you meet with Christian friends. I hope it isn’t, I hope that you are at least involved in a home fellowship group also.
Well if you are in deep water metaphorically speaking then Jesus has called you to now "let down the nets." This will mean something different to each of us. Maybe your being called to start a Christian fellowship group within your workplace? Maybe a work mate has shown an interest in joining you at church? Maybe you’ve had an opportunity to invite a friend to tennis on Saturdays.
Jesus has given us the ultimate example of how we ought to approach our own personal ministries. If we were to examine his ministry we would discover that it had a two pronged approach. On the one hand he spent time, in private, teaching and socialising with his disciples. On the other hand he taught the word of God to thousands in a very public way and he had no qualms about mixing with people no matter who they were.
II) THE HARVEST IS PLENTIFUL
Unlike Jesus many of us make excuses for not putting out into deep water and letting down the nets. We may be discouraged because of past failures. Like Peter we may say "We’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught a thing."
Have you ever heard this sort of thing:
"Australia is such an apathetic country, people won’t respond to the gospel. In fact they’re hostile towards it" or "There’s too many other religions or too many other things to do, people are tied up with building their own little empires."
All of these are plain facts about our secular society. But society has always been hostile towards God and the Good News of Jesus Christ. It’s been that way since humanity was first deceived in the garden of Eden. These are no excuse for failing to fulfil the command of Christ to "Go out and make disciples of all people ..." (Matthew 28:19).
If we take a look at Luke 5:4 we can see that if we do put out into deep water and let down our nets we’re going to get a catch. Jesus has promised us success if we answer his call to become "fishers of people."
Christ is victorious in the battle for souls. Corinthians 15:57 says "Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." We are not on the losing side so we should not expect defeat, we should instead press on to victory.
I realized something the other day that I found quite remarkable. Unlike the students in the compulsory schooling system that we have today, all of Jesus’ students were voluntary. They chose to hear his teaching and, on one occasion at least, we know that he had around 5000 students in one class! How did he attract so many people?
Would it be pretentious of us to expect that we could have the same result? I don’t think so. Do we have the right to believe that any one of us here would be used by God for such a great work? I think we do.
Christ clearly explains how it is possible to do what we would consider to be the impossible. Let’s have a look at Mark 9:21 - 25.
Here we have the account of Jesus healing a boy possessed by an evil spirit.
MK 9:21 Jesus asked the boy’s father, "How long has he been like this?" "From childhood," he answered.
MK 9:22 "It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us."
MK 9:23 " `If you can’?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes."
MK 9:24 Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"
MK 9:25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the evil* spirit. "You deaf and mute spirit," he said, "I command you, come out of him and never enter him again."
In verse 23 Jesus asks "If you can?" Of course Jesus could heal the boy. Of course Jesus could bring multitudes through the door of this church. The question was not could Jesus do it, the question was did the father of the boy have the faith to believe that Jesus could do it?
Do we really believe that God can do mighty things in our church? Do you have the faith to believe that he could use you to bring people to himself? Maybe, like the father of the possessed boy, we need to cry out to God "Help me overcome my unbelief!"
"When Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." (Matt 9:36)
Have you ever shed a tear for the multitudes of lost souls? Have you ever shed a tear for the guy behind the counter at the video store? Have you ever shed a tear for the girl who cuts your hair? Have you ever shed a tear for the petrol pump attendant at your local service station?
It sounds ridiculous doesn’t it? Christ didn’t think so. He loved them so much that he gave up his life for them. I wonder, would we?
When he had seen the crowds and their desperate need for salvation Christ turned to his disciples and said "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest field."
We need to pray to God and ask him to raise up men and women to go out as workers in his harvest field. Interestingly the disciples answered their own prayer because the very next thing that Jesus did was to send out the twelve.
There are those who believe that witnessing is not their gift. They are right. Witnessing is not a gift. It is a responsibility, and it is the responsibility of every Christian. If you pray to God and ask him to raise up workers for his harvest field, you must expect and be prepared to be called out yourself. This may lead us to think twice before we pray for workers to go out. I wonder if Peter thought twice when Jesus asked him to go out again?
III) THE COST OF FISHING
He took a big risk going out to fish again when Jesus asked him to. Peter was not simply a fisherman, he was in business. His experience in the fishing industry would have told him that to go out again would not be a profitable thing to do. It was day-time for a start, not the best time for fishing, and why should he listen to Jesus, he was a carpenter from Nazareth, what would he know about fishing?
Aside from the business side of things what would his workmates think? They also knew that to go out again would be foolish. Peter would look even more stupid if he were to fail to make a catch again.
But he did go. In verse 5 he says to Jesus "Because you say so, I will let down the nets." It took courage, faith, vision and an act of the will for Peter to say that. This is the type of committed heart that God is looking for.
Perhaps you don’t know Jesus Christ as your personal saviour. Perhaps you’re sick of these "Crazy Christians" bible bashing you. Knowing Jesus gives you a peace and joy like you have never experienced before. Can you blame us for wanting to share that? Make your peace with him today.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, the harvest is plentiful. We have been called by the Lord to put out into deep water and let down our nets. Will we follow his example and step out of our comfort zone to go to work in his harvest field? Have you ever wondered where we would be if Christ had stayed in the carpentry shop? He could have, he had the choice!
Will we have a courageous heart like Peter and put our trust in Jesus saying "Because you say so Lord, I will let down the nets for a catch?"
For Christs sake and for the sake of the lost I hope we will.
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