Introduction: 

This morning we are talking about fishin’. My grandfather was a fisherman. I guess most of the memories I have of my paternal grandfather concern fishing. He was called “Shorty.” I was looking through old pictures the other day and there he was with a trophy bass. He won reels, rods, trophy’s and a motor by fishing. There was always someone who came by wanting “Shorty” to go fishing. He had the knack for it. And, when you went fishing with him you went to fish and he fished all day from sunup to sundown. 

Unfortunately I didn’t inherit any of his ability. I loved to fish. I spent lots of money over the years before I became a Christian on boats and tackle and spent lots of time on the lake. But, I didn’t catch fish like grandpa. I loved to go, I enjoyed it, but I didn’t have the same patience or determination I guess that he had. 

The disciples for the most part were fisherman. Not just sport fisherman, professional fisherman. It was only natural that Peter, maybe a little out of frustration, maybe because of his uncertainty about what was taking place and what the future would bring, would return to that which he knew best. And that’s what he did, he and six other disciples went to the Sea of Galilee, which John calls the Sea of Tiberias for a night of fishing. John is the only writer who refers to the Sea of Galilee as the Sea of Tiberias, but earlier in chapter 6 he told us they were the identical. 

It was on this lake Jesus had first called Simon Peter, his brother Andrew and James and John the sons of Zebedee. They had already become a disciple of Jesus, but He had called them to leave their nets and follow Him into a new vocation, that of being fishers of men rather than of fish. 

It can be understood as a higher calling, or calling to a higher purpose as well, just as the Psalmist wrote about the elevation of David’s calling in Ps 78:70-72 where he wrote: He also chose David His servant, and took him from the sheepfolds; From the care of the ewes with suckling lambs He brought him, to shepherd Jacob His people, and Israel His inheritance. So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart, and guided them with his skillful hands. (NAS) 

When Jesus called these men from their nets, He called them for a purpose, with a mission in mind. The mission He had for them was evangelism. Evangelism in it’s most simple terms, means sharing the good news with others so they may come to Christ by faith. Recall Jesus prayer from chapter 17 verse 20. He prayed, "I do not ask in behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word;" (NAS) – that’s evangelism. That is one of the key tasks, or missions of the church – to share the good news of Jesus Christ so others may come to know Him, and experience a personal relationship with Him. 

How does this passage relate to that task? How is fishing on the Sea of Galilee and evangelism related. Actually this living parable teaches us a very important lesson. A lesson that applies to evangelism as well as every other task of the church. 

John wrote in verse 3, “They went out, and got into the boat; and that night they caught nothing.” Did you hear that? They fished all night, and it was day break, according to verse 4, and they had caught nothing. Experienced, professional fisherman and after fishing all night long they had nothing to show for it. 

I can relate to that, I have spent many hours fishing on Lake Hartwell in GA where I grew up only to come home with nothing to show for it. I had the right kind of boat, the right brand of reel and rod and the right kind of lures and all the right equipment, but no fish. 

Luke tells us, in chapter 5 of his gospel, it was a similar occasion when Jesus first called these fisherman. Luke wrote they had been fishing again all night and had nothing to show for it and they had come to shore and were washing and mending their nets when Jesus approached. 

We pickup Luke’s account in verse 2 of chapter 5: " and He saw two boats lying at the edge of the lake; but the fishermen had gotten out of them, and were washing their nets.  And He got into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and asked him to put out a little way from the land. And He sat down and {began} teaching the multitudes from the boat. And when He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, "Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch."  And Simon answered and said, "Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but at Your bidding I will let down the nets."  And when they had done this, they enclosed a great quantity of fish; and their nets {began} to break;  and they signaled to their partners in the other boat, for them to come and help them. And they came, and filled both of the boats, so that they began to sink.  But when Simon Peter saw {that,} he fell down at Jesus' feet, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!"  For amazement had seized him and all his companions because of the catch of fish which they had taken;  and so also James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not fear, from now on you will be catching men." (NAS) 

Again this night they had caught no fish and Jesus called to them from the shore. They don’t recognize Him. The Bible doesn’t say why.  There are a number of possibilities, but probably because of the early morning light they couldn’t clearly see who was on the shore. He calls out to them in verse 5, He knows they have no catch. In a way much like that first encounter by the sea, He gives them instructions.  This time it is to put the net on the right side of the boat. John seems to indicate at this point the disciples had not yet recognized Jesus as the person talking to them. We can only guess the reason they followed His instructions was they probably felt there was no harm in giving it another shot, they obviously couldn’t do any worse than they already had. I know sometimes when I had been out on the lake all day and had given up and headed home before I got there I saw a place and thought ok why not, one more try before giving up, what’s another 10 or 15 minutes. 

Whatever the reason, they cast their net on that side of the boat and verse 6 says,” they were not able to haul it in because of the great number of fish.” It is John who first recognizes it is Jesus who is on the shore, not because he sees him any better but he recalls that earlier encounter and instinctively knows it is Jesus. When Peter hears it is Jesus he grabs his shirt and dives in while the others haul the catch to shore. 

The point is this: We can have all the right tools, all of the right equipment, all of the latest technology, all of the right techniques, all of the training, everything which is necessary and important for the task and still have no catch unless we are obediently following Jesus. 

Jesus reminded us in John 15:5, "I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing. (NAS) 

The Psalmist wrote in Ps 127:1, Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the LORD guards the city, the watchman keeps awake in vain. (NAS) 

The point is, everything we do as individuals and as a local church must be done in obedience to the will of God, must be done for the glory of God. Did I say this last week, or maybe it was several weeks ago, but we sing the chorus that says in my life, in my church, in my song, Lord be glorified. That should be the desire of our hearts, that whatever we do, we do for the glory of God. Paul wrote in 1 Cor 3:7, So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. (NAS) 

We ourselves are tools and we use other tools in the task we are called to, but it is God who causes the growth. It is His mission, His church, His Kingdom. Each of us must be willing to be of use, and to be used by the Lord in fulfilling His purpose for our church. We must be willing to use our time our talent our ability and our resources for His glory. The truth is only when we do that, only when we live and work and commit ourselves in such a manner, will our net come back full. 

We are moving into a new century, and I encourage you, the Lord encourages you to meet the challenges of this new era wholly committed, totally dependent, completely obedient, fully trusting in Him. Allowing Him to take your life, to use a fishing term hook line and sinker, from start to finish, more thoroughly than He has ever had it before that He might make your life and His church more useful, more beneficial, more honoring, more glorifying than it has ever been. That He might take your personal relationship with Him to new heights and might take this church , His church to a new and greater level of service. Are you willing to give Him all that is rightfully His?

[back]