Put out into the Deep Water and Let down Your Nets
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July 19, 2015 |
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 "When He [Jesus] had finished speaking, He said to Simon, 'Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch'…When they had done this, they enclosed a great quantity of fish, and their nets began to break" (Luke 5:4-6).
Senior Pastor Dr. Jaerock Lee
In Luke 5:3-7, Jesus taught Simon how to catch fish, saying, "Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch". But this is not only about how to catch fish, but also about keys to blessing. Now let's look into the keys to receiving blessing embedded in this incident.
1. We should sow to reap
In today's Scripture, Simon had worked hard all night but he was unable to catch any fish. Although he was thoroughly disappointed, he still offered his boat for Jesus to use. He could do this because he had heard good news about Jesus. He believed that Jesus not only taught God's Word, but was also a Man of power who healed many of the sick.
In order to receive God's blessings, we must first show Him the act of sowing. Even in the most desperate situation in which we have nothing, we have to sow a seed of faith to begin receiving His blessing. It is just as in the situation of Simon offering Jesus his boat for His preaching.
James 2:22 reads, "You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected." The widow in Zarephath could receive the blessing of having her food not running out during the three-and-a-half-year drought because she served Elijah, a man of God, with a handful of flour and a little oil in the jar. At that time, a handful of flour and a little oil were very precious for her because she thought she might prepare the last food with them for her and her son and they would then die. But she gave it to Elijah, and received the great blessing (1 Kings 17:8-16).
Only when we rely on God's Word and sow before Him with devotion will He recognize our faith as true. Then we can bring down God's work.
2. We should obey the Word in action
For Jesus knew the most pressing problem facing Simon, He gave the fisherman a word of blessing in order to resolve that problem. He said, "Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch." Yet, if Simon had used his own thought, he would not have been able to obey Jesus' command. Simon was a professional fisherman. He was born and raised on the seashore and learned to catch fish since his childhood.
If Simon had involved his experiences and knowledge, he could have challenged Jesus as follows, perhaps saying, "Sir, all night long, I had let down my nets but caught no fish. All the fish have moved somewhere else and there is none left to be caught." But that's not how he thought, and it's not what he said. And just as Jesus had told him, he went out into the deep water and let down his nets. He caught a great quantity of fish. He even needed to signal his partners in the other boat for them to come and help him. They came and filled both of the boats, so that they began to sink (Luke 5:7).
Simon could receive blessings because, without involving his thought, knowledge, and experiences, he obeyed Jesus' Word exactly as he had been told. He knew that while Jesus might not be a professional fisherman, He manifested signs wherever He went and had authority in His teaching. The words of someone like that, Simon thought, were worth trusting even if they did not agree with his own knowledge and experience. The outcome was far greater than he could ever have imagined.
But Simon did not stop at rejoicing in the many fish he had caught. He fell down at Jesus' feet, saying, "Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!" After personally experiencing such astonishing work of God, Simon came to realize that Jesus was so great and holy that he could not dare to come face to face with Him and that before Jesus, he was a sinner.
Jesus delighted in Simon who was not arrogant but truthfully confessed that he was a sinner. Jesus then gave Simon a spiritual blessing. He said to Simon, "Do not fear, from now on you will be catching men," and called upon Simon as His disciple. He obeyed Jesus immediately this time as well and followed Him, leaving everything behind. Jesus saw the kind of vessel Simon was and gave him the precious duty of a disciple.
God will surely find and use those who can obey His Word without involving their own thought. For such people do not have "self" within them, they can be guided well by the Holy Spirit and quickly enter spirit. They can come forth as vessels that are wanted and recognized by God.
3. We should endure and toil to enter the depth
Spiritually, "water" symbolizes God's Word. And, God's Word is the same as God's heart. Therefore, 'to put out into the deep water and let down our nets' means that we enter the depths of God's heart. Just as Simon caught a great quantity of fish after he 'put out into the deep water and let down his nets' when we enter the depth of God's heart we can mine away an immeasurable amount of treasure from it.
The heart of God is so deep that the depth cannot be measured or understood by man. He designed everything in the universe and governs it to operate precisely. But when compared against the entire spiritual world, the physical universe is only a tiny mark left by a ballpoint pen. Everything we need as well as all strength, wisdom, and knowledge are found in His heart. The deeper we enter His heart, the greater the assortment of gifts and strengths we can draw from it.
But there is one thing you ought to remember here. Going out into the deep water and letting down the nets required much perseverance and toil from Simon. Though he was exhausted and weary from having worked all night, Simon now had to row out to the deeper part of the lake. By the same token, entering the depths of God's heart also requires much perseverance and toil from us. As John 4:24 tells us that "God is spirit," we should strive to enter spirit so as to enter the depth of God's heart. That is, we must toil to cast off flesh and fight against sins to the point of shedding blood (Hebrews 12:4).
And even if we suffer the torment of the self within us being shattered, we must completely crush all our frame-works, our own thoughts and speculations. We must completely deny ourselves and throw off our righteousness. When we call out to God in fervent prayer and toil, we can go into the deeper water and let down our nets. Just as the number of fish Simon caught was simply beyond the limit of his thought, we will also receive answers to problems that no man is capable of resolving.
If you want to receive God's answers and blessings, you must cast away sins. I urge you not to lose heart or grow weary in fighting against sins and doing good, but instead row towards the deeper water all the more forcefully. On your way towards the deep water, you may face trials that are like storms at sea. Against surging waves, you may be thrust backwards from time to time. Even if you come across such storms, I urge you never to lose faith but gather your strength and charge forward. As you give God thanks for teaching you perseverance in trials, and obey His Word when you charge towards the deep water, God will give you amazing answers and blessings.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, from a life of an ordinary fisherman, Simon's life was completely transformed into a new life by meeting Jesus. He became one of the most beloved disciples of Jesus. He was given a new name 'Peter' which means 'the rock' and the keys of the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 16:18-19). He led countless souls to salvation as an apostle proclaiming the resurrection of the Lord and finished his life by dying a martyr. I pray in the name of the Lord that you will live a blessed life like Simon.
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