Being Truthful In Christ

"So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God. That He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, an saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon's and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat. When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, Launch out into the deep and lot down your net for a catch". (Luke 5:1-4).

When Jesus had this encounter with Simon, he was not yet an apostle and this was after an unfruitful labour throughout the night to catch fishes. Simon had no result, his toils were unproductive.

In verse 2, Simon and his friends were "washing their nets" which was meant to catch fishes. They have accepted their situation, the have given up. Maybe your life is in a similar situation today. They say you are unproductive; thought you work very hard. Have you given up or you are about to? Listen, God does not want you to remain unproductive or unfruitful. Jesus came to make as productive. The most important question is "will you allow Jesus into your boat? (or your life or circumstances)? Simon made a wise decision to allow the mater into his boat. In other to change your state of unproductively or unfruitful the first thing you need to do is to allow Jesus into your boat let him come into your situation. He will give you the results you desire in every area of your life. His presence in your lie is a guarantee that you will never be unfruitful.

In verse 3, we see another vital principle which is hearing and obeying the word of the master. The Lord told Simon to "thrust out a little from the land". In other words, the master told Simon to move forward, you need not remain stagnant. If you want fishes, if you want results then move away from the land where there are no fishes or results and move into the sea where there is abundance of fishes. Jesus was following Simon to advance, take an adventure you should make plans and move forward. Do you know Simon could have referred to obey the Master's command? But he instead he obeyed the instruction. People who are going through difficult times find it hard to obey simple instruction. Most times the very difficult cases require very simple solutions. Thank God Simon made up his mind to follow the master and this decision positioned him for the great miracle. God is looking for those who have faith in His word than in their ability to do things, He wants His children to be faithful to His word. Often it is not our ability that really matters, but our availability. Simon was a professional fisherman but on this particular night, his fishing skills failed him, according to him, they have "toiled all night" and had nothing to show for it. Are you available for the Masters use?

Simon was available by putting himself in a position where the master could use him.

We must have an attitude of service to God; we must have a life of worship. It is vital that we discover what God wants from us, and where He wants us to be and grow there. We must always put ourselves in a position where the master can use us.

The next principle can be found in verse 4, Jesus Christ after He had finished preaching to the crowd, He asked Simon to ‘Launch out into the deep". Here is a very important step in being fruitful and productive, you need to receive revelation after hearing or meditating on the word of God.

"Launch out into the deep" means the revelation knowledge that comes to you through your study of the word of God. His revelation that you receive that will guide your action or decision in whatever situation you find your self. When you get such revelation your life will yield results, but you must "let down your nets". You must yield yourself to the Lordships of God's word. Give yourself to the study of Gods word and learn to meditate on His word constituently. Let your heart focus on God and let His word take preeminence in your life. Give your talent to the expansion of God's kingdom and let God be your satisfaction. Give God your time and your life; catch His vision for the world.

We will discover other principles necessary for being fruitful and productive in Christ.

In verse 5, God wants you to have "a deep personal conviction" Simon said "... nevertheless at thy word. I will let down the net". In other words, Simon sees His words are his marching order. He said notwithstanding our fruitless labour, your word is trustworthy. We don't act on God's word to find out if God is faithful; He has always been fruitful before you were born. Acting on God's words is usually for our benefit not God. He wants us to have a deep commitment to His word. We must commit ourselves to the doing of the word. God's word should become our final authority. Be inspired to do His word, don't be among those who murmur and complain about the power of God's word; His a sure sign of unbelief. Simon was obedient to the word of God; God's spirit can only help us to the extent of our obedience. Partial obedience leads to partial success and it can be very dangerous. You must have a day's conviction about the efficacy of God's word. It works all the time unless it is not mixed with faith. Take hold of the word of God, proclaim His promises.

In every area of your life and see the results you will get. In verse 6, Peter had results that literally blew his mind. This shows us that if you serve the Master as Peter did, you will neither be unfruitful nor unproductive. When you yield yourself as a vessel for the Lord's glory, you will never lose anything. You must know you are destined for success in Christ. Col. 1:27 say, "...which is Christ in you, the hope of glory": Jesus Christ is the success you need in your ship (or life).

To be a success in life is never by accident. There are definite laws that govern enduring success. For one to succeed, he must engage these principles and operate them for results. God wants you to produce results in your life, He has given us His ability, it is no longer by our strength, just take advantage of His grace. God want to see you achieve great results in life.

We found out in verse 7, that Peter's result appeared to all to see. He beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship for assistance Peter's result could not be hidden. This implies that the profiting of the word in your life must appear to at all. 1 Tim. 4:15 says

"Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them, that thy profiting may appear to all."

A Christian must make progress continually and it must appear to others. Are you making progress in your life? How many people have you effected with the results of your life? The result that Peter got was beyond his imagination, the fell down at Jesus knees, saying; depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord. (vs 8) God has made you a success by divine standard; it is not according to your works. In verse 10, Jesus said to him you will now fish men". This simply means, you have been called to serve. Be a soul winner for Christ, become a challenge and a motivator of people for God. You have been called to help others grow and make progress. You must be productive everywhere you are; at home, office or in Church. Let you life influence your environment. It is time you stop floating, only dead fishes float. It is time to think and do something. Become effective, refuse to be stagnant and start motivating others for success.

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