The Parable of the Net
Notes
Transcript
Today we come to our final parable in Jesus’ sermon on the Sea. These stories of what the Kingdom will be like. And I trust and hope that these last couple months have been challenging to you. Even if you do not agree with the interpretations of the parables as I have taught them, I trust that they have driven you into further study of the gospels.
But I have thoroughly enjoyed going through these stories and studying the scriptures. Renewing my view of how things have played out these last 2,000 years since Jesus ascended. And how they are going to play out yet. Because we believe that the kingdom of heaven is already, but not yet.
It has come near, but it is yet to come in its fullness.
And today we are looking at the last story that Jesus shares…the story of the Fishing Net
I love fishing stories, and that’s probably because I like fishing…but just because I like fishing, doesn’t mean I am any good at it. While I lived in Erie, I would go out fishing a lot. And the cool thing about Erie is you can fish for all sorts of fish. You can target all kinds. You can fish for bass, small mouth or large mouth. You can fish for perch, or bluegill or crappie, or walleye, or steelhead, or sheepshead, or muskeye or even lake trout. It’s weird to me how many types of fish you can specifically target. And the funny thing is, while one bait or technique works great for one type of fish, typically, it doesn’t work for too many others. And like I said…I’m not a very good fisherman, but I still enjoy wetting a line from time to time. I mean it’s kinda funny how bad of a fisherman I am…I can seriously be fishing next to Dave Learn down on the Pier and he can pull out perch after perch and I’m lucky to catch a goby to feed to the pet blue heron George.
Well a few years ago, in May I had one of the best days of fishing in my life. It was surreal thinking back on it. I went to Rick Run, which is over near McKean and I was going to do some trout fishing. Well, I think in the course of 3 hours that day I caught well over 50 fish, and I’m sure it was closer to 100 now…you know how fishing stories grow!
But I limited out on trout. And I brought home an amazing catch that I’m pretty sure I was the only one who enjoyed eating that night over the campfire. But it was one of those times in my life where I just new God was saying…I’m doing this for you. There was seriously no bait that I could put into that water that didn’t catch a fish. When i exhausted my worm supply, I used powerbait. When I exausted my powerbait, I used a rooster tail. Everything was reeling in another fish. It was awesome.
But the lord taught me an important lesson that day about fishing and faith. We are responsible for our part, being faithful to show up and learn the fish we are targeting, but he is responsible for the harvest.
Turn with me to another fishing story in Matthew 13 today…
47 “Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. 48 When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. 49 This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous 50 and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
The Kingdom is like Fishing Net that has been thrown into the water and caught fish of every kind.
Thrown into the Water:
There had to be fishermen.
Let’s think about our purpose for a moment. Why do churches exist?
What are some of the things we are called to do?
- Fellowship
- Worship
Let me ask you this…out of all of those things that we just called out…what is the one thing that we will not be able to do in heaven?
Evangelism- The one thing we cannot do in heaven.
What do you think that means as far as the importance of evangelism…of sharing the gospel…of advancing the kingdom.
Jesus called his disciples by saying…
We are called to cast a line Matthew 4:19
19 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.”
“Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.”- NKJV
Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” NLT
Paul said it this way to Timothy…
5 But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.
The Heart of the Preacher: Preparing Your Soul to Proclaim the Word Chapter 23: Do the Work of an Evangelist
Ask yourself: When did I last have a gospel conversation with a friend, neighbor, or acquaintance who is “separated from Christ … having no hope and without God in the world” (Ephesians 2:12)? Paul’s charge to Timothy about doing the work of an evangelist carries a clear implication for us as preachers: we can’t fulfill our ministries if we aren’t active in evangelism
Jesus asks his followers to fish for people. That is our job, that is our mission, that is one of our largest purposes while here on earth. We are called to be fishermen…of people, and I love that the NLT says,
Come, follow me, and i will show you how…
Jesus didn’t only give them the mission, he taught them how to do it. Through proclamation of both word and deed. Telling them about the kingdom of God. Introducing them to Jesus, who is the Messiah and who takes away their sin and proclamation of the kingdom through deed…healing the sick, casting out demons and fighting injustice.
That is how we fish for people.
What are some of the ways you have felt effective in sharing the good news and fishing for people through your deeds?
What has been an effective tool for you to share the good news and fish for people through your words?
Grace and Truth
Too much grace and you love people into hell
Too much truth and you come across as an unloving bigot
Let’s go back to the parable.
To catch people of every kind- Matthew 13:47
47 “Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish.
God’s desire is that people from every nation and tribe and language will be worshiping the Lamb before the throne.
9 After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”
Diverse, Inclusive, Beautiful…but there is only one way to get there.
One of the most beautiful aspects of being involved and being a part of the Alliance Family is that we have a brief glimpse, or a small scale glimpse of what this will be like in heaven.
Because we truly take Jesus at his word…to go and make disciples of all nations. That we will be witnesses. His spirit empowered witnesses to go into Jerusalem, and Judea and all SAMARAIA AND TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH….TO SEE THAT All ethic groups…and when we gather as a broader Alliance Family, and worship is taking place in different languages it is a beautiful reminder that God desires people from every tribe, tongue and language. And that we get to be a part of a larger family. WE are not siloed into our own little ethnic group here…We have brothers and sisters who love God and share our mission yet they look nothing like us, they sound nothing like us. Our family resemblance is less about our ethic heritage or our national heritage and it’s more about our King Jesus and his Kingdom which brings people together from cultures and backgrounds who would normally never give each other a moments time.
We are not alone in our mission, in our calling. Our mission, our job is too big to be siloed into one church and we cannot do it alone. And so as a part of our Alliance Family, we get the chance to take all of jesus to all the world. and it will take all of us.
And this heartbeat of mission to see all of Jesus for all the world goes all the way back to our founder
Story of A.B. Simpson
On one occasion a New York Journal reporter approached Dr. Simpson with the question, "Do you know when the Lord is coming?"
"Yes," he replied, "and I will tell you if you promise to print just what I say, references and all."
The reporter's poised notebook gave the ready promise.
"Then put this down: 'This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto the nations and then shall the end come.' Matthew 24:14. Have you written the reference?"
"Yes, what more?"
"Nothing more."
The reporter lowered his pencil and said, "Do you mean to say that you believe that when the Gospel is preached to all nations Jesus will return?"
“Just that.”
"I think I begin to see daylight," answered the reporter. "I see the motivation and the motive power in this movement."
"Then," said the Alliance leader, "You see more than some of the doctors of divinity."
WHEN THE NET IS FULL THE END WILL COME
Full of fish of every kind.
Matthew 13:48 - When the net is full…
48 When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away.
That’s the way it will be at the end of the world…
49 This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous 50 and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Angels will do the harvesting… we are not called to do that part. Our part is to be faithful in proclamation.
6 Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation, tribe, language and people. 7 He said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.” 8 A second angel followed and said, “ ‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great,’ which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries.” 9 A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand, 10 they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.” 12 This calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus. 13 Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.” 14 I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one like a son of man with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. 15 Then another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, “Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.” 16 So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested. 17 Another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. 18 Still another angel, who had charge of the fire, came from the altar and called in a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, “Take your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the earth’s vine, because its grapes are ripe.” 19 The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath. 20 They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horses’ bridles for a distance of 1,600 stadia.
You catch ‘em, he’ll clean ‘em.
Back to my fishing story…
Erie really is a good example of this parable because of it’s diversity in fish. We are not going to be able to catch every type of fish ourselves but we can target certain types at certain times. The challenge is to listen to the voice of our Savior and see where he wants us to go and who he wants us to go after. Then we partner with him in learning that
Some days, you’ll have the best days of fishing…and you’ll catch a ton of fish…other days you wonder what is wrong as you are casting your line…We are called to be faithful to be fishers of men…leave the results to him…
We are called to cast a line
to catch people of every kind.
We leave the results to Him indeed.
As we proclaim through word and deed.
Until the day of Christ’s return
let’s evangelism at every turn.