The Net (11/28/11)

Shalom,

Please begin by reading Luke 5:1-7.

Can you imagine Peter, the seasoned fisherman, as he tries to explain to Jesus, the carpenter and traveling preacher, why going back out to fish again is rather ridiculous? He tries to be kind. "We've worked all night and haven't caught anything." He's trying to explain without being cruel and harsh that he knows his way around the lake and doesn't want to waste anymore time. Now we can imagine that he'd like to say, "I've worked this area of the lake since I was a little boy. I know when and where to fish. Who do you think you are, non-fisherman, to tell me how to do my job?"

But Peter graciously takes his boat back out. There was just something about Jesus that convinced him to take his chances with this odd bit of advice. The Master, as he was called, had earned the respect of his disciples. They honored his request because they wanted to give him honor. They trusted him so much that they obeyed him even when he was telling them something they didn't think he fully understood. They decided that going back out to fish was a good thing because their trusted teacher said they should. Now think about it. How many times have we ourselves said something like, "But you just don't understand," after hearing an instruction from our Lord?

The first test of obedience is found in the measure we're willing to follow Jesus. For these men who had left everything to follow him, Jesus offered a test of faith. Would the fishermen obey the instructions of the carpenter when it came to fishing? We get tested in similar ways. We think we know something really well, and then the Spirit instructs us to do something in that area which we know could never work. Will we trust and obey, or will we miss out on an unexpected blessing? The fantastic results the fishermen got certainly helped them learn to trust Jesus more and more.

Two boys decide to go fishing. They tell their mother not to make anything for supper because they planned on providing the meal. They pack a lunch, hike to their favorite fishing hole, and begin to fish. One of the boys notices a snake in the water and starts to throw rocks at it. Soon the other boy joins him as they see more snakes. All too soon they notice it's getting late. They pick up their gear and head for home.

But they head home without any fish. They spent all their time throwing rocks at the snakes. They must now go home and explain this to their mother.

Did you know that there are churches who do the same sort of thing? We spend too much time throwing stones, and not enough time fishing. We throw stones against Bible translations we don't like, or doctrinal interpretations we disagree with, or styles of baptism and worship music and liturgies. We throw many stones at what we consider to be sin that needs to be repented of or demons who need to be identified. But what about spreading the Gospel and helping people come to know Jesus as their Savior?

We're to be casting our nets, both where Jesus directs us to and where we know the fishing is good. Too much time is wasted arguing and debating theological points instead of combining our efforts to bless our communities. Too much time is wasted complaining about the sin in our world instead of offering the grace of Jesus Christ to overcome the darkness. Too much time is spent defending our comfort zones and allowing the spirit of slumber to keep us from being aware of the spiritual needs in our communities.

Had Peter not gone back out to fish, because he'd already spent all night without catching anything, he would have missed out on an amazing and powerful miracle. There's an awesome wonder connected to obeying our Lord God Almighty. Without knowing what was about to happen, Peter moved his boat out into deeper water just because his Lord asked him to. There the nets were lowered and the rest of the story points to to the miraculous power of Yahweh. Peter trusted Jesus and received an overwhelming blessing. We need to do the same thing.

We have a responsibility as followers of Jesus, to be "fishers of men." We need to be reaching out with Gospel into a lost and dying world. Do you know where your net is? If we never cast out our nets, we'll never catch anything. To be "fishers of men" means to be active about sharing the Gospel with the lost. We need to use our individual nets and our corporate nets. We each have an individual fishing role, and each body of believers has a combined function. But to do this we have to know where our nets are.

Sometimes we argue within our fellowships about the style of net to be used, and then never actually use it. Sometimes we put the net on display because of the time we actually caught something with it. Sometimes we ignore our nets because it's such a crude way of fishing. Sometimes we're only willing to cast it in places where the type of fish we'll catch will be acceptable within our fellowship. It sure seems like we have a lot of excuses for not following the direction of our Lord and Master.

Are there holes in your net? Then it needs to be mended. Too often we cause the holes ourselves by backing down and not maintaining the truth of the Gospel. When we agree that there are other ways to heaven we cut huge holes in our nets. When we compromise and water down the fact that full surrender to Jesus is necessary we let people out of our nets. When we proclaim that "evangelism isn't my gift" we deny the ability of the Holy Spirit within to speak through us. We've got to work at mending our nets instead of making them less effective.

Evangelism is the duty of the whole Body of Christ. We're all called to do this ministry of evangelism. No, you may not have the specific spiritual gift of evangelism, but you still have a responsibility to be part of the mission. Pray and ask your Lord what he thinks. Read your Bible and you'll not find a place which says you're not required to be a part of the evangelistic ministry.

The wonder of it all is that Yahweh calls each and every one of us to do this important task. If he called these simple fishermen to such an important work, then he can certainly use you and me. He doesn't need super saints, he needs obedient followers. Every Christian can share the Gospel. What we need to do is share it from our perspective. People need to hear what we know about Jesus. They don't need to hear what you heard some professional evangelist say. We need to become more comfortable with telling our version of the Gospel story, the version that we don't have to study because we've lived it.

Whatever business you're engaged in, whatever your occupation, Yahweh can and will use you. Whatever your talent happens to be, if you turn it over to your Lord he can use it to advance his Kingdom. Under Yahweh's direction we won't all be doing the same thing, or even talking to the same people. There's not a program or paradigm that works for every person. We just need to be under the Spirit's leading and direction, responding to his call to evangelize.

And don't worry about being absolutely tongue-tied whenever you try to talk about your Savior, just trust in his help and you'll eventually get it right. You may have to take a course on evangelism, or read some books with suggestions on how to share your faith, or just plain get out there and fail a few times for the experience. Whatever you do, speak to people about your Savior and your faith.

Evangelist Winkey Pratney shares this story. "As a shy, ex-research chemist whose only desire in life before becoming a Christian was never to travel, speak, or meet anyone; I've learned this: We must trust God or die. A friend of mine is one of the most witty, relaxed Gospel communicators I know. To hear him, you could never tell he is a hopeless stutterer."

"Unless the Lord touches him, he's a basket case. Would that we all had his problem. It's the story of all the Bible heroes and Christian giants throughout history: Trust God or die. Or sometimes, trust God and die."

Are you willing to die to yourself, to put down the shyness and doubt and stubbornness that keeps you from sharing your faith with other people on a regular basis? If Yahweh calls you, he's also able to help you perform whatever task he desires. Evangelizing our Lost world is one of those tasks. If you're not certain that's true then you need to read Matt 28:18-20. This work is for each and every member of the Body of Christ. It's a work that must be done for the Church of the Living God to continue on.

Find your net and use it. If you don't know how to fish seek out some help. If your net needs mending, fix it. Get into action, Yahweh has already called you.

Blessings & Peace, Mike