Going Fishing:
Expect A Miracle:
Simon peter was someone whose occupation was catching fish.
I like to call him fisherman Pete.
Working as a fisherman was his life.
Living as a fisherman was his business.
It was his livelihood.
Everything that needed to be known about fishing Pete knew.
For this reason, when Jesus arrived at the scene and told him to fish in an exact place at an exact moment that the experienced fisherman knew for certain was the wrong thing to do – one can almost imagine Pete uttering something quite indistinctly beneath his breath.
The last thing Pete wanted to do is go fishing. He and his friends had been out in the cool of the night, all through the night and had caught nothing, not even the smallest of fish!
Anyhow, the boat was clean.
The nets had been scrubbed, and were ready to dry.
The morning sun was reflecting on the surface of the sea, and fisherman Pete was completely exhausted!
He and his friends just wanted to go home!
What’s more, the best hours for fishing had gone, and there really didn’t seem much point in pushing the boat out yet again!
And in any case, what did Jesus know about fishing!
He was only a carpenters kid!
So, what did fisherman Pete do?
Well, as we get to the central point of this amazing story, he told Jesus, “If YOU say to do it, then I’ll do it!” “Being as it’s you.”
Perhaps Pete was thinking, maybe a second attempt at the task would be more successful, especially with an extra pair of hands aboard.
Hum!
Well, you never know.
Friends, let’s be truthful. There are times when what Jesus tells us to do seems contrary to what common sense would suggest, and sometimes somewhat impractical!
But pete did it.
He tossed the net into the deep, and what a catch!
A huge haul of fish, straining the net past capacity.
What a blessing!
Yes, that’s right. In the early part of His ministry, Jesus had called fisherman Pete with a large catch of fish.
At this point in time, Jesus said to Pete, “One day you’ll be fishers of men and women.”
Three years later, a little while after His resurrection, Jesus reminded fisherman Pete of his calling with a large catch of fish.
This time round, for the disciples, the first light of day was the end of a difficult and disheartening night.
A whole night of work – and not a single fish was caught!
O boy! Here we go again!
At the break of dawn, just as the sun was rising, they knew the night had been a profitless activity, and they will go to shore having gained nothing!
They were exhausted, and empty-bellied!
But then, something totally unexpected happened.
It all came to a promising stage when Jesus instructed the disciples to toss the net onto the right-side of the boat to see what would happen.
Then the miracle occurred.
Jesus gave them an extraordinary large catch of fish – 153 to be precise – and a barbecue breakfast as a bonus!
Interestingly, there’s one thing to note from these two fishing episodes – it was the obedience of the fishermen that brought such abundance.
Friends, there will be moments when Jesus will ask us to do things which we may think are outrageous, ridiculous, extreme, or impossible.
But friends, as we obey what He asks, God will bring the blessing.
And yes, too often we wait because the time doesn’t seem right, or we’ve done it before!
But if we continually refuse to budge until the perfect conditions arrive, we’ll do nothing!
When Jesus asks us to do something which we think cannot be done, we must take Him at His word.
That way, we can expect a miracle!
Amen? Amen!
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Thank you.
David Prince: Full-time Husband To Rachel – Writer Of Stuff – Receiver Of Grace – Drinker Of Tea – & Hearty Neighbour.
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