GONE FISHING
Main Text: Luke 5
I live in a small town and there is a seafood place in
downtown, across the street from the county courthouse a block off Main
Street. On the front of the door of the
seafood place the owner has a sign showing its hours of operation and the days
it is opened. It is opened from Wednesday thru Saturday and for Sunday thru
Tuesday, it simply states gone fishing. During
the time for which the store owner indicates that he is closed, he is actually
preparing for or getting the products that he will sell in his store from
Wednesday thru Saturday. So while we who
like to fish for fun, this man is actually performing a task to further his
business pursuits. So too we find the
main characters in our text. Peter,
James and John were fishermen by trade and made their living from the sea. By all accounts, they were very successful in
their chosen occupation. That is until
they met Jesus Christ who changed their direction and purpose in life. Just for
a brief period, I want to talk to you from the subject, gone fishing.
In our text we find the men that will form the inner circle
of Jesus Christ’s earthly ministry that is while he was on earth physically,
tending to their occupations, fishermen when they met Jesus in a way that they
could no longer perform in their chosen occupation. Now this was not the first time they had been
called by Jesus to become one of his disciples.
The first call is recorded in John 1:35-42. The second call is recorded in Matthew
4:4-18. Each time Peter, Andrew, John
and James returned to fishing. But on
this third encounter, Jesus makes it abundantly clear who he was and
demonstrated the benefits of following him in terms and under circumstances
that these men could no longer deny who He was or continue in their present
state.
We know from Luke 5:5 that Peter has a relationship already
established with Jesus because he refers to Him as Master. We also see in this verse that Peter was
obedient and followed the instructions of Jesus, although in all likely hood,
Peter in the back of his mind said man I am a professional fishermen and I have
been fishing these waters for years and I know where the fishes are and I have
toiled all night long and caught nothing and you want me to go out here again
on another blank trip. Yep I probably
would have thought the same thing as Peter and truth be told, so would a lot of
you.
This event brought about a life changing and relationship
change in Peter for we now see in Luke 5:8-9 (NKJV) : 8 When
Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart
from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!" 9 For he and all who were with him were
astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; Peter referring to
Jesus as Lord rather than Master as in verse 5 after recognizing his sinful
nature in not believing totally in Jesus Christ. I wonder how many of you have been playing
Church like you use to play house; giving you the benefit of doubt here. You see Peter just like so many of us
half-heartedly believed in Jesus until we no longer could doubt His amazing
power in Grace in our life. It was not
until this resurrecting encounter that we kept going back and forwards in and
out of the world and its belief system.
Well you would think that after this encounter that Peter
would never return to fishing for fishes again yet we find him going back
fishing after Jesus Christ’s crucifixion in John
21:3 (NKJV)
3 Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We are going with you also." They went out and immediately got into the boat, and that night they caught nothing. Notice that the same result as before when they went out on their own, they caught nothing. But when Jesus came on the scene and they followed Him, once again they were able to catch a multitude of fish, John 21:6 (NKJV)
6 And He said to them, "Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some." So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish. Later on in the 21st chapter, we find Jesus restoring Peter, he asks Peter do you love me three times, and then once again gave him the command that he had given him three times prior to his crucifixion and resurrection, Follow me. Of particular significance is the incident recorded in verses 10-11: John 21:10-11 (NKJV)
10 Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish which you have just caught." 11 Simon Peter went up and dragged the net to land, full of large fish, one hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not broken. Peter following the directions of Jesus and believing that he could accomplish what Jesus had told him to do was able to do what six men struggled to do on their own. In this Christian walk we can be victorious if we first follow the instructions of Christ and believe.
3 Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We are going with you also." They went out and immediately got into the boat, and that night they caught nothing. Notice that the same result as before when they went out on their own, they caught nothing. But when Jesus came on the scene and they followed Him, once again they were able to catch a multitude of fish, John 21:6 (NKJV)
6 And He said to them, "Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some." So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish. Later on in the 21st chapter, we find Jesus restoring Peter, he asks Peter do you love me three times, and then once again gave him the command that he had given him three times prior to his crucifixion and resurrection, Follow me. Of particular significance is the incident recorded in verses 10-11: John 21:10-11 (NKJV)
10 Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish which you have just caught." 11 Simon Peter went up and dragged the net to land, full of large fish, one hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not broken. Peter following the directions of Jesus and believing that he could accomplish what Jesus had told him to do was able to do what six men struggled to do on their own. In this Christian walk we can be victorious if we first follow the instructions of Christ and believe.
But Jesus
did not send his disciples on an evangelistic journey unprepared. We find Jesus spending some forty days with
the disciples teaching them in all things needed and admonished them to stay
put until after they had received power from on high, that is the Holy Spirit, Acts 1:2-5 (NKJV)
2 until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, 3 to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. 4 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, "which," He said, "you have heard from Me; 5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now." It is through the powerful move of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost that the fulfillment of the promise to Peter that he would be a fisherman of men came to fruition, Acts 2:41-42 (NKJV) 41 Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. 42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.
2 until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, 3 to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. 4 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, "which," He said, "you have heard from Me; 5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now." It is through the powerful move of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost that the fulfillment of the promise to Peter that he would be a fisherman of men came to fruition, Acts 2:41-42 (NKJV) 41 Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. 42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.
Today’s
Christians receive the power to walk the Christian life and evangelize the
world, via the Holy Spirit, immediately upon Salvation. Now
that we have been fully equipped how do we bring the unsaved into the
Kingdom? Well we need to study the Word
of God daily and rightly divide the Word of God. Since I am old school I will share the tried
and true method which is Romans-Road to Salvation.
You can also view another version of the Romans-Road to Salvation here or there.
As
Christians, we are all called to be fishermen of men as a command giving by
Jesus Christ in what is termed the Great Commission: Matthew 28:18-20 (NKJV) 18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on
earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to
observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even
to the end of the age." Amen.
If you go forth with Jesus, there is no way the devil in
hell can stop you from being the great fisherman of men that we are obligated
to be. Remember your duty is to plant
the seed. It is the Holy Spirit’s Job to
water the seed planted and produce the fruit of Salvation.
I started this post
way back on June 5, 2014 and never posted it until today. Since that the time the seafood place in my
small town has gone out of business. I
assume its owner is now a full time fisherman.
Before my light is extinguished, I am going back to fishing for souls and
will continue until I take my last breath, what about you? Leonard.
