Cast Your Nets Again!

"Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net..." Luke 5:5

 

The book of Luke records an incident between Peter and Jesus that all of you visionaries out there must take special note of....as this will impact your life TODAY!  The situation was this:

Jesus was speaking to a crowd near the shore of the Sea of Galilee.  The crowd had grown to the point where Jesus could no longer be comprehended so he asked a local fishing crew led by Peter to offer their boat to him so he could use it as a pulpit and deliver his message to what had become a large multitude of people now standing on the seashore. After the sermon, Jesus gave the crew a simple instruction,

"... Go out into the deep water and let down your nets... “Luke 5:4-9.


Jesus told Peter, in essence, to go out and fish. Jesus guaranteed Peter there would be a large catch in "the deep" waiting for them. However, here's the issue: This crew had just returned from fishing all night in "the deep" with no results.

Our understanding is that Peter and his crew (James and John) were not amateur fisherman; they were professionals.  These men made their living in "the deep" fishing for profit and for sustenance. They knew how to fish, they knew when to fish and they knew where to fish.  Many of you know that any time you instruct someone on a subject which they do for a living, you'd better be sure about your Instructions; because you run the risk of insulting that person if you don't.

To put it in perspective, Jesus, a renowned, local teacher and son of a carpenter, was telling these professional fisherman who had just fished all night with no results to go back out there. This would be the same as the pastor of your church who has no expertise in your career field telling you how to do your job today.  Can you imagine giving a person who owns a painting company tips about painting trim?  Or telling a professional chef how to sauté an onion or make a flakier pie crust? No one wants to be instructed on something they do every day. "Tread Lightly" would be the proper term.  

The chapter records that, in response, Peter politely informed Jesus of an important detail which he thought perhaps Jesus didn't already know. He told Jesus the timing was not right for fishing (Luke 5:4). He knew this because his crew had worked the waters for at least 6-hours (hence, the term "all night") so they could say with confidence nothing was out there. Many of us are in this situation today. You've worked for months; perhaps for years on something but did not see the results you intended to see. Maybe it was a project where, after hours and even days of labor you did not accomplish what needed to be accomplished. Maybe it was your career; you worked the same job for years then come to find out you've been bypassed for a promotion... again; maybe even terminated. Perhaps it was with your health; you followed a fitness plan on doctor's strict orders to the best of your ability, but after months you see no progress on the meter or scale. Then here comes someone such as a mentor, a spouse or a friend trying to encourage you saying, 

"...Try again; this time you will be successful!"

But perhaps, after facing disappointment, like Peter, you've become reluctant.  It's tough to try again when you've failed at that job before. It's tough to try a new diet when so many other diets have failed you in the past.  It's tough to start a new business when your last one folded and left you in debt. It's tough to become "involved" at a new church when your last church ran you and your family away in tears.  Worse, when things don't work out for an extended period of time, we tend to begin to doubt that God even wants us to do what we are trying do. This is because, when an endeavor fails, you know better than to think that God has failed; so you instinctively consider that perhaps God didn't move. God could have brought increase... but He didn't.  God could have caused success... but He didn't.  God could have saved the project... but He didn't. God could have... God could have... God could have....  

And people around you notice the change in what you believe God "said". You once had so much confidence that God was with you in your work. You used to tell everyone "my latter will be greater" and all that jargon and you weren't bothered when people called you crazy....... However, now that you’re wrestling with defeat, you agree with them. Maybe you mis-heard God. Maybe what you thought God wanted you to do, He really doesn't want you to do.  Or perhaps you really ARE crazy. And so now you have just as much confidence that your endeavor won't work as you once had that it would. Now you are looking forward to the sleep and the rest you will get once you finally give-up instead of looking forward to the life of an overcomer that you once dreamed you would live.


To every dreamer, every visionary, every person standing on a promise from God, you must understand that sometimes you can go through all the motions and be fruitless; but you must always be willing to go out into the deep and CAST YOUR NETS AGAIN! There was nothing wrong with what Peter was fishing for. Nor was there anything wrong in the way those men were fishing....

Question: So what went wrong which cause the men to be fruitless? 

Answer: NOTHING!

You've got to understand that sometimes you will work all night, all month, all year, all decade for what seems like no result; and it's OK!...  Failure doesn't mean that God didn't move.  God is not "wishy-washy". He is not double-minded.  God does not change, God CAN NOT change.  There will never be a time when God suddenly does not want you to do something that He clearly asked you to do prior to a failure.  God doesn't ask for a particular work from you and then say, "I've changed my mind...” and make the whole thing collapse on your head.  If God has ever asked you to work... He's still asking!  If God has ever asked you to preach... He's still asking! If God has ever asked you to sing, play an instrument, write a poem, park a car, sweep a floor, guess what... He's still asking!  Whatever God wanted you to do last year; He still wants you to do this year and, whether you see yourself as successful or not, He will still want you to do it next year!  

You only needed to be obedient... which means CAT YOUR NETS AGAIN! Peter's answer to Jesus was,

"... At thy word I will let down the net... ".

Once he followed Jesus' instructions, these men received the biggest catch of their careers; clearly the biggest catch ever seen in that time period. Their nets caught so many fish that it almost destroyed their boat. According to ancient history, an average fishing boat which would have cruised the Sea of Galilee was easily between ten feet to nearly thirty feet long. Luke records there were so many fish that they had to flag down another ship to help relieve the pressure on the nets. And eventually, both ships started taking on water. I don't know exactly how many fish it would take to almost sink two nearly 30-foot vessels; but I know that was an astonishing amount of fish!


Ephesians 3:20 says,

"God is able to do exceeding, abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us... "


This scripture simply means that God can do more than you ask by His power... and His power is at work on the inside of you RIGHT NOW!  This is what Peter and his crew discovered that day, and you will discover this too! In whatever you are praying for, just keep listening for instruction. Watch for a fresh Word involving what you have been doing. The instruction might be to become more honest in your dealings. It may be for you to work harder; or maybe don't work so hard that you lose your family because of your project. Perhaps the Word is for you to become a tither. Or maybe your Word is just to keep doing exactly what you are doing. Whatever it is, DO IT!

Remember, it is God who has given you ALL your instructions.  He is the one who told you “How to fish, "When to fish", "Where to fish" and in Peter's case, "What to fish for". And He will never change.   So don't you change.  Continue to be obedient and you will finally reach a harvest that you do not have room to receive; a harvest so large that you may need to call somebody to help you bring it in!