Trusting God with Evangelism

Intro

Read John 21:3–6 “Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will also come with you.” They went out and got into the boat; and that night they caught nothing. But when the day was now breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. So Jesus said to them, “Children, you do not have any fish, do you?” They answered Him, “No.” And He said to them, “Cast the net on the right-hand side of the boat and you will find a catch.” So they cast, and then they were not able to haul it in because of the great number of fish.”

Sounds familiar right?

Remind them of Luke 5:4–11 “When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” Simon answered and said, “Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but I will do as You say and let down the nets.” When they had done this, they enclosed a great quantity of fish, and their nets began to break; so they signaled to their partners in the other boat for them to come and help them. And they came and filled both of the boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw that, he fell down at Jesus’ feet, saying, “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!” For amazement had seized him and all his companions because of the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not fear, from now on you will be catching men.” When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him.”

Jesus’ time with the disciples starts and ends the same way, and then he leaves them with the great commission:

Read Matthew 28:18–20 “And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.””

God’s Sovereignty

The disciples saw a miracle and a huge reward. Yet they also worked all night and caught nothing. I don’t know if any of you fish but it can be frustrating to fish and catch nothing. It feels like you are doing everything right, but they just aren’t hungry. When morning came, Jesus simply says “cast your nets to the other side” and they catch more than they could handle.

Was it because the disciples were doing something wrong all night? No, God allowed the disciples to fish all night with no results to reveal that Christ has authority over the ministry of the disciples as it says in the great commission.

Read 1 Corinthians 3:6–8 “I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor.”

Does anybody here garden?

Can any of you grow tomatoes? I hope not, it’d be kinda weird to see tomatoes growing out of your arms. If we can’t grow tomatoes, what can we do? (plow, sow, water, fertilize), but ultimately it is God who sustains plant life and causes plants to grow.

From the Reformation Heritage Study Bible:

“The miracle of catching 153 fish, like the feeding of the five thousand, is a sign of Christ’s all-sufficient power to enable the apostles (and other gospel preachers) to experience great success as fishers of men (Mark 1:17; Luke 5:10). Yet their fishing all night and catching nothing reminds us that success is not from the preacher of on his terms but subject to Christ’s sovereignty. Each servant of God has a future determined by the will of Christ, in some cases a life ending in martyrdom. However, our calling is not to guess about the future but to devote ourselves to following Him by faith.”

Our Responsibility

We’ve seen that God is the one who gives the growth in our efforts. But does that mean we can sit back and not do anything?

Let me hear it: “May it never be!”

We see this tension right in the great commission:

Christ has been given authority, and He gives us a mission.

God is sovereign, and we have a responsibility.

JI Packer sums this up well in his book Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God:

“Evangelism is the inalienable responsibility of every Christian community, and every Christian man. We are all under orders to devote ourselves to spreading the good news, and to use all our ingenuity and enterprise to bring it to the notice of the whole world. The Christian, therefore, must constantly be searching his conscience, asking himself if he is doing all that he might be doing in this field. For this also is a responsibility that cannot be shrugged off… While we must always remember that it is our responsibility to proclaim salvation, we must never forget that it is God who saves. It is God who brings men and women under the sound of the gospel,, and it is God who brings them to faith in Christ. Our evangelistic work is the instrument that He uses for this purpose, but the power that saves is not in the instrument: it is in the hand of the One who uses the instrument.”

Are you doing everything in your strength to bring the gospel to your circles of influence?

Do you get discouraged when you don’t see results for your efforts in ministry?

How can you rest in the sovereignty of God in your efforts?

How does knowing that God is sovereign encourage you to be more bold in your faith?

Christ’s Encouragement

John 15–21 I. The Permanent Relation of Jesus Christ to His Church and Individuals

You cannot expect to be as comfortable in a fishing boat as in your drawing-room. You cannot expect that your nets will be always full. Failure and disappointment mingle in the most successful lives.

John 15–21 I. The Permanent Relation of Jesus Christ to His Church and Individuals

It may be that we shall not see the results of our toil till the morning dawns and the great net is drawn to land by angel hands. But we may be sure that while we are toiling on the tossing sea, He watches from the shore, is interested in all our weary efforts, will guide us if we own to Him our weakness, and will give us to see at last issues greater than we had dared to hope from our poor service.