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Sermon for 7 February 2010 entitled The Miracle of Fishing

Good Morning! Once again, I trust you had a wonderful week walking with Jesus Christ. Isn’t God good? Even when we walk through the valley of pain, agony, and sickness, God walks with us holding our hands and reassures us that everything is going to be alright. Why? Because, Jesus Christ has overcome the world.

Remember this…Without the test of the valley, We would not fully comprehend the Joyous Testimony of standing on the Mountain Top with God. We have another powerful Text to examine this morning, but, once again, Our Old Testament reading which is found in Psalm 138. Psalm 138:1-8. Listen very carefully to the words of King David. Psalm 138:1-8...

1. I will praise thee with my whole heart: before the gods will I sing praise unto thee.
2. I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy loving-kindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.
3. In the day when I cried thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul.
4. All the kings of the earth shall praise thee, O Lord, when they hear the words of thy mouth.
5. Yea, they shall sing in the ways of the Lord: for great is the glory of the Lord.
6. Though the Lord be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off.
7. Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou will revive me: thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me.
8. The Lord will perfect that which concerned me: thy mercy, O Lord, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands.

What a powerful Psalm by King David. Kind David begins with praise from his own heart and tongue. With excitement, King David looks forward to worshipping in the Holy Temple of God and praises God for His Loving Kindness. King David is thankful that when he cried out to God, God answered him and God strengthened David the King of Israel.

Questions: Do you look forward to coming to God’s Holy Sanctuary? Do you look forward to worshipping in the presence of the Lord God Almighty? Do you look forward to praising God for His Loving Kindness and His protection and deliverance from your enemies?

King David writes, Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou will revive me: thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me. When you think you have gone as far as you can go, cry out to God and He will strengthen you to finish the task He has called you to do.

The Title of my message this morning is…The Miracle of Fishing. The Miracle of Fishing. Our New Testament Text is found in Luke 5:1-11. Luke 5:1-11. If you have your Bibles with you this morning, please follow along as the Text is read. Luke 5:1-11...

-1. And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret.
-2. And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets.
-3. And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon’s, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship.
-4. Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.
-5. And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.
-6. And when they had this done, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake.
-7. And They beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both ships, so that they began to sink.
-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 was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken:
10. And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not: from henceforth thou shalt catch men.
11. And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him.

Here ends the reading of God’s Holy Word and may God add His Blessing on this reading this morning. Let us now take a moment for a word of Prayer. Father, once again, We are so thankful for the opportunity to hear the reading of your Precious Word. We are so thankful for your presence now with us.

This morning, We bind the works of the enemy that would hinder our understanding. Anoint our ears today and Open our hearts and minds, Father, to receive the Powerful Truths of your Holy Word. In the Name of Jesus Christ we pray, Amen.

First of all, Let us get some background information on our Text this morning. As you recall, The Headquarters of Jesus Christ’s earthly ministry was located in Capernaum. Jesus ministered there and healed many Jewish people. Simon Peter lived in Capernaum and after a little while of healing, Jesus enters into Simon’s House.

Simon’s mother-in-law fell sick with a fever and Jesus healed her of her infirmity. After her healing, She got up and ministered to all that were in the house. Jesus then moves to a private place, the Bible calls a desert place, and many people followed him entreating him to stay with them. But, Jesus says I must preach the Kingdom of God to other cities also because I am sent there, too.

Keeping in mind…What is the preaching of the Kingdom of God? The answer is…God’s way of doing things here on earth. This information brings us up to our Text this morning beginning with verse 1 of Luke Chapter 5...

-1. And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret.

Now, The Lake of Gennesaret is another name for the Sea of Galilee. And, The City of Capernaum is located on the Northwest shore of Gennesaret. The Lake of Gennesaret is also in a SouthWesterly direction of what is known today as the Golan heights which is in the Northeast border of the country of Israel.

-2. And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets.
-3. And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon’s, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship.

When the opportunity presented itself when He was near a large body of water, Jesus would always teach the Jewish people from a fishing boat positioned just a little offshore. Why would He do that?

The Water acted as a sound amplifier and when Jesus would speak, He would not have to yell for people to hear him. He could speak in a normal voice and many people would be able to hear him with no trouble.

-4. Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.
-5. And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.

Do you see the picture here? When Jesus finished teaching the multitude, He instructed Simon to launch his fishing boat out to go fishing. But, Simon and his partners had already been up all night fishing and had caught nothing.

So, You can imagine that they were tired, sleepy, and quite possibly frustrated. On top of that, They had not finished cleaning their nets and Jesus says Launch out, Let us go fishing. Even though Simon was tired and sleepy by having been up all night, He obeyed the instruction of the Master and said, At thy word, I will let down the net.

There is a very powerful lesson here. Do you see the lesson? There are times in life when life itself will be a great struggle. You will be tired. At times, You will be more than just tired.

You will be exhausted and frustrated because what you have done has yielded no results of success. More times than not, You will feel that you have failed in your endeavors. And Many times, You just might consider quitting. Do you see this lesson?

A Word of encouragement…Don’t Quit! Hang in there. The Best is yet to come. Patiently wait for it. Let us continue with our Text…

-6. And when they had this done, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake.
-7. And They beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both ships, so that they began to sink.

What a powerful picture here. Do you see this picture? Jesus instructs Simon to launch out to go fishing after Simon and His partners had been up all night fishing. They were tired, sleepy, and frustrated. But, Simon obeys the instruction of the Master.

Simon launches out and lets down his net and to his amazement, They caught a multitude of fish. Matter of fact, Simon had to call his partners over to help them bring in the catch. They caught so much fish that both fishing boats began to sink.

Keeping in mind, That Simon and his partners were expert fishermen. This is what they did for a living so they knew when to fish and when not to fish. So, When Jesus said to launch out, This was obviously not an opportune time to catch fish.

And, Simon knew this but he obeyed the instruction of the Master anyway. Why? The Bible says All things are possible with God. Even when the time is not a good time.

There is yet another powerful lesson here. Do you see this lesson? Jesus is using this fishing trip to teach a lesson on how to bring in a harvest of souls. When the Word of God is preached, many people who are lost and on their way to hell are given an opportunity to receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour.

The Work of preaching the Gospel by being a witness for Jesus Christ is not always pleasant. Life will give to us times of struggle and frustration. We will get tired because we do not see any fruit of our labor. It seems that people hear the Word but they do not respond.

Don’t quit! Hang in there. Be patient and wait for the harvest because the harvest is coming. What Jesus is showing us here is the principle of seed…time…harvest.

When the Word of God is preached by our life as a witness for Christ, The Seed of the Word is planted in the hearts and minds of many people who do not know Christ. Then, We have to wait for the Holy Spirit to do His Mighty Work in their hearts.

After a little while, Then, We will see the fruit of our labor when people come to the foot of the cross and realize that they need Jesus Christ as the Lord and Saviour of their lives.

We just have to be patient and wait on the Harvest. And, While we are waiting, We must make sure our lives are in tune with God by walking in the Spirit so that we can be a powerful witness for Jesus Christ at all times.

-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 was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken:
10. And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not: from henceforth thou shalt catch men.

What a powerful picture here. What happened to Simon Peter? When Simon Peter realized what had just happened right before his very own eyes, he fell at the knees of Jesus Christ and said, Depart from me; I am a sinful man, O Lord.

What did Simon Peter experience? Simon Peter experienced the Miracle of Fishing. What is The Miracle of Fishing? After witnessing what Christ did, Simon realized that he was a sinful man. Simon realized that every effort on his own would result in failure without the expert guidance of the Lord Jesus Christ.

What Simon Peter and his partners experienced was the Miracle of Salvation that only comes by Jesus Christ when their hearts were pricked by the Miracle of Fishing. You see, The Miracle of Fishing and the Miracle of Salvation are one and the same Miracle.

Jesus Christ showed Simon and his partners that they needed Him in their lives. They were like a ship without a rudder or a mast without a sail without Jesus Christ as Lord of their lives. The Miracle of Fishing is realizing you need Jesus.

And, Did you notice what The Master said to Simon Peter? Jesus said…Fear not. Fear not which indicates the Love and Mercy of Jesus Christ when someone comes to Him and makes Him Lord of their Lives. There is Mercy and Forgiveness to everyone who calls upon the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

11. And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him.

Finally, Do you see this powerful picture of our Text? When Simon Peter and his partners came back to shore, they put down their nets and they parked their boats. Matter of fact, The Bible says…They forsook all. That is everything and followed Jesus Christ.

Questions: What does Jesus Christ truly mean to you? Have you forsaken all to follow Jesus Christ? Have you given all of your heart to Jesus? Or, Do you know some Christians in the Church today who are still tied at the hip to the world and trying to follow Jesus Christ?

The Bible calls these people who are tied at the hip to the world and trying to follow Jesus Christ as Lukewarm Christians. They are neither hot nor cold for Christ. You see, You either give Christ all of yourself, or, You don’t give Christ any of yourself. But, Some people still try to make their own rules fit God’s way of doing things right here on this earth.

You can’t have it both ways. You either do things God’s way, or, You will find yourself struggling and totally frustrated over simple things in life. The Miracle of Fishing. My final question…What is your Decision today? I say Blessed be the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us bow our heads for a word of prayer.

Father, You are so Great and Mighty. We praise You today for the powerful Truths that we heard. We praise You for your Mercy and Forgiveness. We praise You for your Precious Son Jesus Christ. Father, Help us today.

Help us to give all of ourselves to you so that You can take our lives and mold us and shape us into the image of your Holy Son. Take our lives and use them for Your Glory so that others will know that there is a Mighty Power that goes before us. We pray in the Precious Name of Jesus Christ and everybody said, Amen and Amen.

If there is someone who reads this sermon and you do not know Christ and you realize that you need Jesus, I will invite you to say a very simple prayer. Just say…Father, I am a sinner. I realize now that I need Jesus Christ in my life. Today Father, I ask Jesus into my heart and I make Him Lord of my life. Forgive me of my sin and walk with me every day. Amen.

Friend, If you prayed this simple prayer, I believe that you are born again and are now a new person in Christ. Find yourself a Bible based, Bible teaching Church and go to Church the next time those doors are open. Let the Pastor know who you are and the decision that you made and follow the Lord in Believers Baptism. And I say Welcome My friend to the Family of God!

Dr. Michael Dickson, Th.D.

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