[One day as Jesus was preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee,] [ great crowds pressed in on him to listen to the word of God.] 2[He noticed two empty boats at the water’s edge, for the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets.] 3[Stepping into one of the boats, Jesus asked Simon,] [ its owner, to push it out into the water. So he sat in the boat and taught the crowds from there.] 4[When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ] “Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish.” 5[“Master,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again.”] 6[And this time their nets were so full of fish they began to tear!] 7[A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat, and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking.] 8[When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m too much of a sinner to be around you.”] 9[For he was awestruck by the number of fish they had caught, as were the others with him.] 10[His partners, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were also amazed. ] Jesus replied to Simon, “Don’t be afraid! From now on you’ll be fishing for people!”[ ] 11[And as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus. ]
Just this past weekend in his sermon, pastor Pacer Tan preached the following:-
"Peter and his boys (workers), had just spent the whole night trying to catch fish and came back exhausted, with empty nets. After teaching the crowd which was a gathered there, Jesus told His new friend, the expert fisherman, probably a fishing enterprise owner, to go back and throw the nets for a catch. In his mind Peter must have thought, " Here I am, a fishing expert. What does this carpenter who plays with wood, know about fishing?" Yet, Peter chose to obey. His obedience attracted blessings! Yes, the nets were so full that they began to tear."
Now, God's Word says that obedience is better than sacrifice. (1 Samuel 15:22). God our Father searches for willing candidates to carry out His ministry of saving souls on earth. Just as He found willing candidates in the apostles so too we must become willing candidates in His divine hands,. When Peter obeyed, Jesus was able to use Him to further God's Kingdom on earth.
Peter did try to catch fish. Yet he was unable to catch any fish using his own knowledge and strength. Even if he had been able to secure any catch, the catch which the Lord brought in through Peter's obedience, far superseded, any fish that Peter would have caught. Likewise when we, though we may be very educated, very rich and very powerful, humble ourselves and surrender to the Lord and obey Him, we will be used mightily by Him, for the salvation of souls, which is His mandate for us Christians.
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