Fishing for the Kingdom.

Luke 5:1-11 MKJV

(1)  And it happened that the crowd pressed on Him to hear the Word of God, He stood by the lake of Gennesaret.

(2)  And He saw two boats standing by the lake. But the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets.

(3)  And He entered into one of the boats, which was Simon's, He asked him to thrust out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the people out of the boat.

(4)  And as He stopped speaking, He said to Simon, Launch out into the deep and let your nets down for a haul.

(5)  And answering, Simon said to Him, Master, we have toiled all the night and have taken nothing. Yet at Your word I will let down the net.

(6)  And doing this, they enclosed a great multitude of fish. And their net was being torn.

(7)  And they signaled the partners, those in the other boat, to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they were sinking.

(8)  And seeing, Simon Peter fell at the knees of Jesus, saying, Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, Lord.

(9)  For he and all who were with him were astonished at the haul of fish which they had taken,

(10)  and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, Do not fear, from now on you will be taking men alive.

(11)  And bringing their boats onto land, forsaking all things, they followed Him.

Prayer – Today Lord, send a Word into my life!

Peter and his brother Andrew were professional fishermen but they had fished all night and caught nothing. But they were willing to allow there professional skills and qualifications to be in subjection to Jesus.

Do you rate your qualification your skills for secular work as being more important than any direction that God can give to you?

Whatever our profession, qualification or skills, we need to allow Jesus onboard our boat.

Jesus used the boat of Peter as a pulpit. He wants to do the same today. Wherever you work today invite Jesus into your boat and make it a pulpit.

Bring the kingdom of God into the work place.

Invite Jesus into your boat, your marriage, your home, your finances, your studies, training our children, your health etc.

We toil at whatever we do if He is not a part of it. If he is not onboard our boat, we toil.

What does it mean to toil? - To labor or work hard, exhausting labor or effort, a struggle, to proceed with difficulty.

Have you toiled all night?

Genesis 3:17-19 ASV

(17)  And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in toil shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;

(18)  thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;

(19)  in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

You don’t have to toil to eat. Jesus became a curse so that we don’t have to be under the curse of the land.

Invite Jesus into your boat. Break the curse.

Don’t give up!

All you need is a word from Jesus.

Luke 5:4 MKJV

(4)  And as He stopped speaking, He said to Simon, Launch out into the deep and let your nets down for a haul.

One word from Jesus created fruitfulness for Peter and Andrew.

2 Kings 3:16-17 MKJV

(16)  And he said, So says Jehovah, Make this valley full of ditches.

(17)  For so says Jehovah, You shall not see wind, nor shall you see rain. Still that valley shall be filled with water, so that you may drink, both you and your cattle, and your animals.

1 Kings 18:41 ASV

(41)  And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain.

2 Kings 7:1 MKJV

(1)  And Elisha said, Hear the Word of Jehovah! So says Jehovah, Tomorrow about this time a measure of fine flour will be sold at a shekel, and two measures of barley at a shekel, in the gate of Samaria.

The drought is over!

When we obey the Word from God, His blessings will be made manifest.

Luke 5:6-7 ASV

(6)  And when they had done this, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes; and their nets were breaking;

(7)  and they beckoned unto their partners in the other boat, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.

When we obey the Word of God , He blesses such that there is no room to contain it.

God gives net breaking, boat sinking blessings.

 God does not look for the idle to put into ministry. He looks for those who have been diligent in what they are doing but are willing to allow God to use them.

Serve God now when you have strength not when you retire.

Be faithful as you work with God in Jesus City church!

As the people came with there problems to David to make David king, to make David fulfill his God given purpose, they were set free from distress, debt and discontent.

Luke 16:10 MKJV

(10)  He who is faithful in the least is also faithful in much. And he who is unjust in the least is also unjust in much.

God seeks those who don’t see their jobs as being more important than the Kingdom of God.

Break out of fear! To be used of God does not mean you have to give up everything and enter into fulltime ministry, but God will test if you are willing to sacrifice your Isaac.

God does not seek to take all of us out of our secular job into fulltime ministry, but He will prove us to see if we love our jobs more than we love the kingdom.

Peter and Andrew could have allowed the sudden profit of their catch distract them from the work.

Do not let the blessings of God become idols.

Jesus here shows us the order of priority. He preached or put the kingdom of God first above the business of fishing or the profit thereof.

Jesus did not ask them to come and join Him when they had caught nothing but He gave them a glimpse of what they could accomplish in the secular to test them whether the profit was more important than the kingdom.

Peter and Andrew, James and John did not hesitate to leave all to follow Jesus. They recognized that by themselves, they could do nothing.

Whatever our job or duties, we must recognize that by ourselves we can do nothing. We need Jesus in our boat.

We must be willing to forsake all. Don’t let your work become an idol. Invite Jesus in, let Him take priority in your life.

God will test our hearts. Are we willing to give up the jobs we hold so dear for the sake of the Gospel? God does not need your job and He does not need for you to quit but He will test and see if we are willing to lay down our jobs for the kingdom. Peter and Andrew, James and John must have committed their business into the hands of others because they still had a business to return to after the death of Jesus.

John 21:2-3 MKJV

(2)  Simon Peter, and Thomas called the Twin, and Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples were together.

(3)  Simon Peter said to them, I am going out to fish. They said to him, We will go with you also. They went out and entered into a boat immediately. And that night they caught nothing.

They went back to what they knew best, what they were trained to do and once again failed, till Jesus came on the scene.

This was just a reminder that they could do little without Jesus. It was also a reminder of a similar incident and a reminder of their duty as fishers of men.

Wherever we are located is a pulpit for us to extend the kingdom of God to others.

The fishermen did not insist on selling their catch before answering the call of God. They left to take care of God’s business and He took care of their business so that they could still return to the business.

When you take care of God’s business, He will take care of your business.

God is not calling you to drop the secular but He will test and see if your job has become an idol to you.

Mark 1:15-20 MKJV

(15)  and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God draws near. Repent, and believe the gospel.

(16)  And walking along beside the sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.

(17)  And Jesus said to them, Come after Me and I will make you fishers of men.

(18)  And immediately they left their nets and followed Him.

(19)  And when He going farther from there a little, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets.

(20)  And immediately He called them. And they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and went after Him.

When Jesus said “Follow me”, He was saying be imitators of me. Likewise today He says follow me. Not leave your job, but imitate me in your place of work, your school, your neighborhood.

Follow me. Be like Christ.

Abandon yourself for my Kingdom. Let the kingdom of God take priority in our lives.

When we follow Jesus, then He will make us fishers of men.

Our life will become a bait making the kingdom of God attractive to others.

Is our life a witness of Christ?

Is our life glorifying Jesus?

Is it lifting up Jesus?

Today choose to follow Jesus. Live like Jesus would live. Live for Christ.