06⎪October 2021⎪shop . cmausa . org |
“ When he had finished speaking , he said to Simon , ‘ Put out into deep water , and let down the nets for a catch ’” ( Luke 5:4 , NIV ).
Luke 5:1-11 tells a miraculous fish story and of the calling of Jesus ' first disciples . On this day , Peter not only caught a big catch of fish , but he also caught a big vision of what God could do with his life . A short three years later , he would preach a sermon in which 3,000 people were converted in one day . He would become one of the early leaders who laid the foundations whereby 2,000 years later , over two billion people profess the name of Jesus . What lessons can we learn from Peter ' s huge catch of fish ?
The potential is vast . Even though the disciples had fished all night and not caught any fish , there was still plenty to catch . Just because you aren ' t seeing motorcyclists come to Christ through the evangelistic outreach efforts of your chapter does not mean there are not many motorcyclists in your community who desperately need Jesus . Just as there was a massive shoal of fish waiting to find their way into the disciple ' s nets , there are bikers around your chapter , made ready by the Holy Spirit for the Good News you have to share with them .
Although cleaning nets is important for fishermen , their primary purpose is to catch fish . The
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primary task of CMA is sharing Christ with motorcyclists , not discussing it until it becomes stale in non-exciting dated formats . Jesus says , " Put out into deep water , and let down the nets for a catch " ( Luke 5:4b , NIV ). There are so many people who need to hear the message about Jesus . Why should we be sitting back cleaning our nets when there is such a great opportunity before us ? We have the promise of Christ that He will always be with us ; let ' s " put out into deep water and let down the nets for a catch !"
Nothing is impossible with Jesus . Peter ' s first reaction was negative and pessimistic . He didn ' t think it would work , " We ' ve worked hard all night and haven ' t caught anything " ( Luke 5:5a , NIV ). However , possibly after a long pause , he says , " But because you say so , I will let down the nets " ( Luke 5:5b , NIV ). Why do you think Peter changed his tune so quickly ? I believe it was because he had been sitting in his boat , listening to Jesus ' words , and simply listening to the words of Christ that caused great faith to rise in him . Peter says , doesn ' t make sense to me , but I ' ve been listening to what you say Jesus , and I ' m just crazy enough to do it if you say it . CMA , let ' s listen to Jesus , obey him , even when it contradicts our experience and logic .
Jesus made what seemed impossible possible . “ When they had done so , they caught such a
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large number of fish that their nets began to break ” ( Luke 5:6 , NIV ).
It cannot be done alone ( take someone with you ). Luke 5:7 ( NIV ) says , " So they signaled to 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 ."
Partnership is key to the mission . The catch of fish or the harvest of biker souls your chapter can experience is greater than you can handle yourself . So get some help ! Take someone with you !
It ' s going to take all the members of your chapter , and new members you haven ' t met yet , to reach the vast number of bikers within your chapter ' s influence . We have to be together on this , CMA . The vision God has for us requires unity ! Disunity is so offputting to those outside CMA , and when people visit and all they witness is conflict and pulling against each other , they seldom stay around . At the same time , partnership and unity are very attractive . You can ' t pull in the big catch of fish all by yourself ; it cannot be done alone ; take someone with you !
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