Concern for the Catch

Sermon delivered by Curtis Bryant, Pastor and Founder of Greater Heights Missionary Baptist Church on August 21, 2011 (Homecoming Sunday).

Scripture - Luke 5:1-11 **verses 4 and 10 (NIV)

Jesus Calls His First Disciples

 ¹ One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret,^[a] the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. ² He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. ³ He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.  ⁴ When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”
 ⁵ Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”
 ⁶ When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. ⁷ So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.
 ⁸ When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” ⁹ For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, ¹⁰ and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.
   Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” ¹¹ So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.

• God is not concerned about how much time we spend at church, but the catch and the salvation.
• God's mission statement - John 10:10 (NIV)

¹⁰ The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

1. In the story, Jesus uses the boat as a pulpit to teach the men about the Word of God. Whatever God wants to use as a pulpit, He will use it... whether it is an event or a particular item.
2.  The boats are sitting "by the dock of the bay... watching the tide row away." In other words, the churches today are inactive in their catching.
3. In the story, the fishermen were washing the nets after they fished. The reason why you had to wash the nets is because you would catch a little bit of anything and everything. This same concept applies to fishing for men.
4. Even after the men were finished fishing, Jesus commanded them to cast their nets back into the water. When they followed His instructions, they received a vast amount of fish. This was an example to show at any moment, God can show up, especially at the last moment when you are about to give up, to show that He is in control.
5. Often, the problem is not with the catch, but with the fishermen doing the fishing. Whenever there is a lack, it is not with God, it is with the fishermen. Reasons for lack: an unteachable spirit, laziness, ignorance, and sometimes misfortune and withholding.

• We need to change our vocabulary; we need to omit "whatever" and replace it with "nevertheless." "Whatever" indicates that you do not care, but "nevertheless" demonstrates that you are still concerned with situations going on, however you will not be kept from what God has for you.
• Obedience to God always gives us super abundance. Whenever you obey God's commands, you will have productivity.
• The first kind of success demonstrated in this story for obedience was "net-breaking" success. After the fishermen threw let their nets back into the water, they caught so many fish that the net began to break. The second kind of success demonstrated in this story is "boat-sinking" success; the great amount of fish made the boat become so heavy that it began to sink, which leads to the third kind of success-- "help-me-somebody" success. Whenever God gives us a command, just do what He says. You will have success in whatever you do.

"We are concerned about [so many issues], but Jesus is concerned about the catch." Often we are  not concerned about what Jesus is concerned about; we are not interested in the catch, but God makes fishing easy when we follow His commands. "God has given us the souls of men, and He wants you to make the catch."