Do You Have Any Fish?

“After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he revealed himself in this way. Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. Simon Peter said to them, ‘I am going fishing.’ They said to him, ‘We will go with you.’ They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

“Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, ‘Children, do you have any fish?’ They answered him, ‘No.’ He said to them, ‘Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.’ So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish. That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, ‘It is the Lord!’” (John 21:1-7 ESV)

It seems that whenever I read this passage of Scripture that I can immediately see a practical application of this lesson to our lives today. For, as Christ’s disciples (his followers), we are to be “fishers of men,” i.e. those who are sharing the truth of the gospel of our salvation with the people of the world and who are encouraging the body of Christ in our walks of faith and obedience to our Lord Jesus Christ. For we are to go and make disciples of Christ of people, teaching them to obey our Lord’s commandments.

[Matt 5:13-16; Matt 28:18-20; Jn 4:31-38; Jn 13:13-17; Jn 14:12; Acts 1:8; Acts 2:14-18; Acts 26:18; Rom 10:14-15; Rom 12:1-8; Rom 15:14; 1 Co 12:1-31; 1 Co 14:1-5; Eph 4:1-16; Eph 5:17-27; Php 2:1-8; Col 3:16; Heb 3:13; Heb 10:23-25; 1 Pet 2:9,21; 1 Jn 2:6]  

So, this is the lesson that I am seeing here. Peter decided he was going fishing and the others decided to join him. From a spiritual standpoint this could very well represent our lives when we decide, on our own, that we are going to do something, even something good, but without waiting on the Lord. And the result was, through their own human efforts, they caught nothing, even though they tried. For they were doing it in their own strength, and not in the strength of the Lord.

Now I will add here that this doesn’t necessarily mean, if we are following the leading of the Lord, that we are always going to see immediate results, or that we are going to see all the results in this life. I have heard many missionary stories over my lifetime of missionaries in other countries serving the Lord among the people for years before one of them comes to genuine faith in Jesus Christ. So lack of immediate results or of visible results is not necessarily an indication that the work is of the flesh.

But sometimes no results or no visible results can be because we are going it on our own, in the flesh, and not in the power of God’s Spirit. But not always. And the same is true with obstacles and opposition. Just because we face many obstacles and opposition and trials and tribulations is not necessarily a sign that we are failing in some way. It could very well be a sign that we are succeeding, and that is why we are coming up against obstacles and opposition, much like what Jesus faced continuously.

But now Jesus entered the scene, and he saw their situation, and he had compassion on them. But first he led them to identify to him what their situation was. And when we feel discouraged and disheartened over our circumstances, we need to bring our situations to our Lord in prayer, too, and voice to him our concerns. And when we recognize our own needs and/or our own helplessness, then Jesus can intervene on our behalf, and he can show us what we need to do, but then we must obey him.

And the disciples listened to the Lord’s instructions to them, and when they did they had an abundance of fish. Again, even if we are obeying the Lord, we may not always see immediate or visible results for our labors, but if we are patient, and if we continue to walk by faith in obedience to our Lord in doing what he has called us to do, we should begin to see evidence. But we must continue with the Lord even if we don’t see the results for a long time. For we walk by faith and not by sight, believing the Lord for the results.

For our job is just to do what the Lord says to do and he is the one who brings the increase, like he did for the disciples. It is the Lord’s job to persuade human hearts to obey the Lord and to forsake their sins. It is our assignment to share the truth with the people and to leave the results in the hands of the Lord. For we can’t really make people become disciples of Christ, but we can certainly teach them what it means to be disciples of Christ and then trust the Lord to change their hearts and their lives.

[Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Co 6:19-20; 2 Co 5:15,21; Tit 2:11-14; Jas 1:22-25; 1 Jn 1:5-9; Rom 12:1-2; Eph 2:8-10; Heb 12:1-2; Jn 6:44; 2 Pet 1:1; 1 Co 15:58; Php 2:12-13; Col 1:21-23; 1 Co 10:1-22; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13] 

And when we see the results and we hear Jesus say, “It is the Lord!”, then we need to give glory to God and not take the glory for ourselves. For it is the Lord who changes people’s hearts and minds. And it is the Lord who works his will in and through our lives when we are submissive to him and when we are obedient to him and when we do what he says to do. For it is the Lord who calls us by his grace and who empowers us to do the work of the ministry to which he has called us. So he gets all the glory!!

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer 

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897

Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,

This is my constant longing and prayer;

Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,

Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,

Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,

Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,

Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,

Holy and harmless, patient and brave;

Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,

Willing to suffer others to save.

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,

Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;

Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,

Fit me for life and Heaven above.

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,

Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;

Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;

Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrYhiK2nQBg 

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