LAUNCH OUT!

We read in the fifth chapter of St. Luke about Jesus preaching the Word of God by Lake Gennesaret.  Because of the press of people, He entered into a fishing boat and taught the multitude from there.  As He finished speaking, He told Simon Peter, the fisherman who owned the ship, to launch out into the deep part of the lake and let down his nets.  Right away Simon Peter began to protest, but gave in to the request saying, “Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at Thy word I will let down the net.”

                          

Just like these fishermen, it sometimes seems like our best efforts to do the will of God and to win souls to Christ just seem to come up empty.  Many churches put together evangelistic campaigns, and special revival services, and even door-to-door initiatives; but for all their labor, very few souls are touched.  The key element that is often missing is that the Lord Himself has not directed the work.  We can “toil all the night;” but if the Lord Jesus is not in it, we will return with our nets empty and nothing to show for our labor.  It is imperative for us to learn to discern the voice of the Master, and be able to distinquish between Him speaking and our own thoughts.  Even our best intentions, if they are not Spirit led, are doomed to failure.

 

Sometimes, we make excuses why it would not make sense to launch out.  “We’ve tried before and nothing came of it;” or, “I have trouble talking to people about God;” or, “I’m not an evangelist.”  As long as we’re willing to believe what God can’t do, we will never discover what He can do.  Though Peter made excuses, at least in the end he was willing to obey Jesus’ word.  By faith he launched out.  It is time that we quit hugging the shore, and launch out as well to the place that our Lord directs us.

 

Simon Peter and his friends were experienced fisherman, mind you, and knew when the best times to catch fish were.  In their natural minds, they must have been very doubtful that they would be successful at this time of day; but at Jesus’ word, they cast their nets one more time.  When they did, they caught a great multitude of fish, insomuch that their net began to break under the weight of it.  They found that they could not manage the net by themselves, and so they called to their partners to bring another ship and help them with the bounty.  When all was said and done, they filled both ships with so many fish that the boats were in danger of sinking! 

 

Can you imagine a revival that would draw so many souls to Christ that we would have to call to our brothers in other churches in order to have the resources to minister to them all?  It is not just about mass evangelism, however.  There is a principle that is taught here.  The principle is not to rely on our own efforts whatever the undertaking is, but, instead, to wait patiently for the Lord to direct our labors.  This may seem like a mystical notion to some, but it is very real.  The early disciples were directed by the Holy Spirit in their work to take the gospel to the world.  It is not a principle that only applies to winning souls, though.  It applies to every situation that touches our lives, and every endeavor.  Realistically, our personal ministry may never harvest thousands of souls. If, however, we allow the Lord to lead us daily to the ones around us who are hungry, and to speak the things that He lays on our hearts, it will be surprising how many people He can influence through us. Whether we catch one fish today, or a great multitude, it must be the Lord directing us.

 

Simon Peter was so astonished at this miracle, that he fell down before his Lord, sorely aware of his need for the Savior.  Jesus simply said, “Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.”  This is the call that God has placed on us: to become fishers of men.  It is our lives, moreover, that must lure men in.  There must be something different about us that makes them hunger to know what makes us victorious in life.  When these humble fishermen heard Jesus’ words, they forsook all and followed Him.  Have we got the same faith today to be willing to forsake whatever it is that stands in our way of following our Lord?  The power of our risen Savior is released in us when we learn to die to our own pursuits. 

 

God, teach us to hear Your voice, and have the faith to launch out into the deep!