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When he went fishing God began to lay down principles
of the Great Commission. Let me show you at least three things
that Peter learned. The first thing he learned in the Great
Commission is what I’ve already mentioned; that is that I’m not
a fisherman. I’m not a soul winner. I’m not a missionary. I’m
not an evangelist. For Peter, this was a refresher course. Three
years before, he had a similar experience. On the level of earth,
he fished all night. He fished in the shallows. He was an expert
with the nets. He wasn’t lazy. He fished all night. Some
fisherman have a bad day. He had more than a bad day. When
you have a bad day you catch a few fish. He worked all night
and he caught nothing.
The first thing God teaches us in the Great Commission is
that we don’t know how to fish. John 21:5, “Jesus therefore
said to them, ‘Children, you do not have any fish, do you?” they
answered Him, ‘No.’” “Have you caught any fish,” and they
had to say, “No.” If you want to fulfill the Great Commission
you’ve got to see that you can’t do it. You can’t do it, God can
do it but He won’t. He says, “I won’t do it by myself and you
can’t do it but I will do it in union with you.
Peter learned, “I can’t do it. I’m not sufficient.” Here is
the second lesson, John 21:6, “And he said to them, ‘Cast the
net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you will find a catch.’
They cast therefore, and then they were not able to haul it in
because of the great number of fish.” I can’t do it but He can.
He is adequate. The second lesson is that Jesus will tell me
where to fish. Jesus will tell me how to fish. Jesus will bring
fish into the net. The whole thing is a miracle. The Lord does
not make us adequate. He shows us that He is adequate. They
had a great catch of fish!
I once went fishing with my son Daniel. We did not do
very well. He caught a very small fish. The first thing he said
was, “Take my picture.” He held a little fish and I had to take
his picture with the fish. When Jesus filled the net with fish,
they didn’t say, “Take my picture.” John 21:7 says, “It is the
Lord.” When I let Jesus fish, He gets all the glory.

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