Lessons from Nets — Jerry Jennings

Now, we do thank You for coming tonight. Let's read in Mark's Gospel 1. The Gospel written by Mark 1. We read in v. 16. It says, Now as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew His brother casting a net into the sea, for they were fishers.

Jesus said unto them, Come ye after Me, and I will make you to become fishers of men. Straightway they forsook their nets and followed Him. And when He had gone a little farther, thence He saw James the son of Zebedee and John His brother, who also were in the ship or boat mending their nets.

Straightway He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants and went after Him. And so on. That's as much as I want to read. It's a powerful little portion of Scripture.

The Call to Service and the Lessons of the Nets

It's a very practical passage of the Word of God for you and me as we move through this world day by day. And we read here that the Savior is calling four saints to service. That's what this call is all about.

It's not a call to salvation. It's a call to service. Alright? And He's calling them no doubt from a lucrative fishing business that they might get into the business of soul winning. Rather than fish for fish, He is calling them and He is equipping them and He is enabling them and He is energizing them to fish for souls.

Alright? So the leading idea in this little portion that we read we believe lies right on the very surface of what we read. And it's relative to the nets. Now, I'm not so much interested in the fishermen, and I'm not really interested in their boats, and I'm not really interested in their business, but I am interested in their nets.

And it's interesting that you and I as a people of God can learn lessons from nets. Imagine that. I can understand learning a lesson from the fishermen themselves. But to learn lessons from nets, and yet this is permeated with lessons for you and me in relation to these nets.

So when you think about a net, you have to think about the weaving of a net. Because if the net isn't woven, you don't have a net. So it's important that these nets are woven. Now, I might have mentioned this before, but two years ago when I was in Newfoundland, I stayed with a man by the name of Lester.

His wife's name was Glenda. She was a fish buyer. He was a fisherman. And I went down in the basement one day. I was tired of looking at the ocean. And I was tired of looking at the waves coming and splashing against the shore.

And I was totally bored with that. So I went down in the basement, and Lester was down there. And what he was doing was weaving nets. Weaving fishing nets. Now, years ago, there was a thing called tatting.

I don't know if ladies tat anymore or not. But I remember there was a time when I bought a little tatter, and I did some tatting. I thought it was kind of interesting. And you know that a lot of sailors that spend a lot of time at sea are very good tatters.

Knot tires. And Lester was tatting. He was weaving nets. He had this great big ball of spool of yarn, and he had it set up a certain way. And he had a tatter about that long. It was a wooden one. And he was weaving nets.

I asked him how many years he had been at weaving nets. He said that his dad taught him to weave nets at four years old. So from the time he was four years old, this man was weaving nets. And you ought to have seen him weave those nets.

I mean, his hands were flying. And he just did it automatically and naturally like he had been doing it since he was four years old. So I thought it was kind of interesting to watch Lester weave these nets.

But there's something else we can learn about nets, and that's working the nets. A net really wouldn't be any good to you and me if it isn't worked. Or to a fisherman if he didn't work his nets. So in order to have nets, he has to weave them.

And in order for those nets to produce fruit for him, he has to work them. And then there's a couple other things that are interesting insofar as nets are concerned. One thing is mending. Nets need to be mended.

And nets need to be washed. And not only do they need to be washed, but there is this idea of worshiping. Do you ever think of worshiping a net? Well, I'll say a little something about that. What I think it might be a possibility that a person could worship a net.

Fellowship as the Weaving of the Gospel Net

So let's think about weaving this net. When you look at a net, it's made up of a bunch of holes. That's what a net's made up of. It's just a whole series of holes. And a hole is nothing if it's left alone.

It doesn't amount to a hill of beans. If you've got a hole, you don't really have anything. And that's what a net is made up of. It's a whole bunch of holes. But when you weave all those holes together, then you have something.

You have a net. And it's a usable item. It's very practical. It is very powerful. It is very useful. It is very vital if you're a fisherman. If you were a commercial fisherman or I was a commercial fisherman like Lester, that net is vital.

He couldn't be a fisherman without his net. And it is a very vital, useful, powerful, practical thing in the hands of the fisherman. And I think the lesson in relation to the weaving of the net is very simple and is really very certain.

Tied together in fellowship and in companionship, endeavoring to keep the unity of the spirit and the bond of peace, you and I are useful in the hands of the master fisherman, the Lord Jesus Christ. Just as useful, just as vital, just as powerful is a natural net is in the hand of the commercial fisherman.

Now you and I as a people of God all bound together, all knit together in our natural condition we were nothing more than holes. And a hole is nothing. But God is able to take nothing and make something out of it that becomes extremely useful to the master fisherman, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Just like Mr. Lester was able to take all these little holes and knit them all together and he had something very, very useful insofar as trade was concerned. And you and I are going to accomplish far more collectively than we are individually.

Okay? Now scripture teaches separation but scripture doesn't teach isolation. And so if I want to isolate myself as a child of God I'm not going to be near as useful to God as if I'm in companionship and fellowship with the people of God.

Alright? So there's the weaving of the net. That's as much as I can put together in my own mind in relation to weaving of the net and how that can be applied in relation to you and in relation to me in a collective manner as an assembly of the Lord's people.

Launching Out and Working the Nets

Now let's think a little bit about the working of the nets. You know if I had this net and it's all wool and it's laying there in a heap in my boat and it just lays there idle it's going to stay empty.

There's going to be one bit of good. An idle net is an empty net. Alright? So when you come to Luke 5 verse 4 to 5 I believe is the word. And the word is simply this. Launch out. Alright? And let down your nets.

If we don't launch out and let down our nets and leave those nets idle, they're going to remain empty and so the net needs to be not only woven, but the net needs to be worked. The fisherman has to work his net if he's going to have any fruit to keep him and pay the freight and so on and so forth in a natural way.

So you can notice something about Peter. You can notice his night. You can notice his nothing. You can notice his nevertheless at thy word I'll let down the net. Those were words that Peter used when the Lord spoke to him.

And the result of his letting down the Lord said to Peter, he said let down your nets. In the plural. And Peter said nevertheless at thy word Lord. Oh, he said we fished all night. Peter was a fisherman.

He was a commercial fisherman. He had a lucrative fishing business. And the only way that that business could be lucrative is if Peter knew what he was doing. Peter knew what he was doing when he was fishing at night because the fish came to the surface.

And they were easier to net when they were on the surface of the lake. But, they went fishing and that night they caught nothing and the Lord spoke to Peter and he had a night and he had a nothing and the Lord said let down your nets.

And so, Peter, he's thinking all this in his mind no doubt and he probably even expressed it to the Lord if we know Peter at all. Peter wasn't an introvert. Peter was an extrovert. If Peter had something to say he likely said it.

And he likely said it to the Lord. But he says nevertheless at thy word I'll let down the net. But the Lord told him let down the nets. Plural. Drop those nets Peter and you'll find. Peter says well I'll let down a net.

So, he let down a net. And the result of his letting down that net is a multitude of fishes, a broken net, a sinking ship, but he was rewarded for his obedience because he had an abundance of blessing.

A multitude of fish. Simply because now the Lord is in his effort. And he's obedient to the Lord. He may be scratching his head and he may be thinking in his mind I don't know if this is going to work at all.

It hasn't worked when the fish are on the surface. Why would it work now when the fish are driven into the deep because of the heat of the day? But, in spite of all of his thoughts and all of the reasoning that he could do, he obeyed the Lord and he let the net down and because of that he had an abundance of blessing.

And it wasn't because of the skill of Peter. It's because the Lord drove the fish into the nets. Or the net. So, I take it that soul winning is like fishing. Takes energy. If you're going to be a commercial fisherman you have to be energetic.

You have to get up in the morning and get at it. If you're not a self starter, you're not going to be a good commercial fisherman. Now, you might not have to be a self starter just to be a fisherman. If you're going to be a bank pull fisherman and you're just going to lollygag on the edge of the river or the edge of the lake and you're going to fish and if you fall asleep fine and if you catch fish that's fine too.

It doesn't take much energy for that. But if you're going to be a commercial fisherman and this is the way that you make your living, you've got to be energetic. You've got to get up and get at it. And you've got to have a certain amount of endurance.

You've got to keep at it. Alright? And you have to be patient. Because just because you're out there doesn't necessarily mean that the fish are going to get into the net. And you have to be a person that has a bit of prudence or wisdom in relation to how to catch fish.

And I tell you, the soul winning, fishing for men, those same qualities, those same characteristics are necessary. One is prudence. The Bible says, He that winneth souls is wise. He isn't wise because he wins souls.

He wins souls because he uses a certain amount of wisdom in relation to dealing with people. You can't just blunder into it. It takes a bit of patience. It takes a bit of endurance. I don't know that we have the same endurance nowadays as the preachers had years ago.

But then I don't know that the Christians have the same endurance nowadays as the Christians had years back. You could have six weeks of meetings years back. Try that now. See what happens. You might get eggs thrown at you by the end of the... by the time you start into the fifth week.

I don't know. Anyways, it don't seem to be as much endurance nowadays as there used to be in energy. So it all takes energy and endurance and patience and prudence. And it's not your life, and it's not my life that's going to save souls.

The Death of Christ and the Gospel of Salvation

It's going to take the death of Christ. It takes the death of Christ to save the soul. And that's the message that people in the world need to understand and know tonight. It's that there was a purpose in the Lord Jesus leaving the glories of heaven, coming down into this world and moving through it in the manner in which He did.

Pure in His character, pure in His conduct, pure in His conversation. And He arrived at Calvary's cross the same way. And He died on that felon's cross for a reason. And that was to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.

That's the message of the Gospel. That's what people need to know. You know, there are a lot of people in the world tonight, no doubt, they would like to be saved. But just liking to be saved isn't the solution.

Those people need to know, need to understand that they need to be saved. It's not just a matter of wanting to be saved, it's a matter of understanding I need to be saved. And there is value and there is virtue in the death of Christ.

And there really was a purpose in Him leaving the glories of heaven and the peace of the Father's side and the holiness of that realm and coming into a world where He is despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.

Into a world where men manifested their hatred towards Him. So there was a purpose in the death of Christ. It is the only way that a soul will ever be saved. Now, the Lord is the one who drove the fish into that net that day.

And He drove the fish into that net not because of those disciples, but in spite of those disciples. And I'm one of them strange brethren that believe that God saves souls not because of me, but in spite of me.

In spite of me. And it's God that drives the soul into the gospel net. And that's why that message is so vitally important to this world so filled with despair and disappointment and darkness and death on every hand.

I heard the news today that in Omaha, Nebraska, folks went to the shopping mall today. Fourteen people were shot by a 19 year old boy. Or maybe he was 17. Anyways, he went into the mall and he was burned up about something.

Lost his job I guess it was. So he goes into this great big shopping mall in Omaha and he killed outright killed nine people in that shopping mall. And there were 14 of them shot. The rest of them ended up in the hospital and one man, I believe 60 some years old is in intensive care.

It's the kind of world we're living in. We are living in a dangerous world tonight. And there's no need of us sticking our head in the sand and pretending that everything is alright. Because everything isn't alright.

Everything is wrong. It's a world filled with spiritual darkness. And it's not getting any better if it's doing anything. It's getting worse. And the great message that is needed in this world today is the message of the Gospel.

It is a message of hope. And it is the only hope for a world that's lost and in darkness and despair. And that's what that boy needed. What he needed more than anything else was Christ as his Savior. And that would have been alleviated.

And a lot of things in the world tonight, a lot of things that are going on in the world tonight, a lot of disappointments and so on and so forth wouldn't be going on if the message of the Gospel was received with open hearts and open minds.

But that's the message that's not being received today in this day and age that we're living in very readily. So you and I can't just drift through the sea of mankind with our nets in the boat. If them fishermen had just drifted over the sea with their nets in the boat, they'd have never caught a fish.

And if you and I are just going to drift through the sea of mankind through our life with our net in the boat, we're not going to be any good to mankind. Those nets will never be filled. The fish weren't going to just jump into the boat.

And mankind is not just going to jump in to the boat tonight. We need to launch out. We need to let down the nets. You and your small corner and me and mine, we have something tonight that other people in this world don't have.

We have a message of hope. The unsaved people in this world tonight don't have that message. Religious people in the world tonight don't have a message of hope. They have a message of religiosity that won't do a man one bit of good.

But it's you and I that have the message of hope. We are the ones that have the nets. And the net won't do any good if we just leave it in the boat and drift through the sea of mankind and expect souls to just jump in.

We need to launch out. That's the word I believe. And let down the nets. And have the courage and the commitment to cast those nets. That's... I know that that's a whole lot easier to read about. And it's a whole lot easier to preach about than to practice.

Sometimes it's kind of hard to cast that net. But in order for fish to get into the nets, we have to work the net. We have to work it. That's why Matthew tells us in Matthew 28 verse 19, go ye into all the world.

Preach the gospel to every creature. You know, I've had people ask me this when I've gone to certain places for gospel meetings. Do you have the mind of the Lord for this? Do you have the mind of the Lord for this series of gospel meetings?

Of course I have the mind of the Lord. And I have to give them the mind of the Lord. Go ye into all the world. What's so hard? What's so debacle about that? What part of that is hard to understand? Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.

Cast the nets. Launch out. Get away from the shore and get out in there into the multitudes of people and cast that net and you will catch fish. Then there's the idea of washing the net. You know, any kind of net, it doesn't make a matter how skillfully that net is made.

It doesn't make a matter what kind of material it's made out of. If you've just got old cheap line that you're making this net out of, weaving this net out of, or the very best material you can get, it doesn't make one bit of matter or difference.

That net is going to accumulate two things. Dirt and debris. You drag a net through the lake, you drag a net through the river, and I guarantee it's going to get dirty. It's not only going to get dirty, but it's going to get filled with debris.

Washing and Mending the Nets

And if these nets aren't washed, and you just leave those old nets the way they are and you bring them into the boat, you know what's going to happen? They'll smell the boat up. Because all that dirt and all that debris in that net is going to start going to corruption.

And it's going to start smelling in the boat. So it's necessary to wash those nets. And not only will these nets begin to smell the boat up, but if those nets aren't washed, and the dirt and the debris isn't washed out of those nets, they're going to begin to rot.

The corbs will begin to rot. The line that these nets are woven out of are going to begin to rot. And once these nets get all smelly and dirty and rotten, they're useless. They're no good for anything then.

You couldn't catch fish in there if you paid the fish to jump in. There's another idea with these nets, I take it. It's mending. Not only do these nets need to be washed, but these nets need to be mended.

Because these nets are all tatted. These holes are all tatted together to develop and to make this net. And they're all bound together. And they need to be mended. Because if the net isn't mended, if there's a hole in the net, what happens to fish?

Fish go right through the hole. They go right out of the net. And you know something else? I read this. This isn't something I was born knowing. It's something that I researched about nets. And Mr. Lester helped me a lot because I had more questions than a hen has feathers.

And I began to ask him about these nets. He told me all these things. Another thing he said about nets, he says if you've got a dirty net and you drag a dirty net through the water, the fish will spot that net.

And he says if they're smart enough, he says they've got a pea for a brain. Just a wee little pea brain, but he says they have enough sense to avoid that net. So that's another reason that nets need to be washed and they need to be mended so the fish don't get out of the net and so the nets don't smell up the ship, they don't begin to rot, and the fish don't spot them in the water.

Because if the net is clean and if it's mended right, he says it'll just flow right through the water. And the fish will get into the net. They'll catch the fish. And we're a lot like those nets, in a sense, aren't we?

We need to be cleansed because, you know, we move through this world. And when we move through this world, partner, everything that we hear and everything we see is defiling in some sort of a way. There's a lot of dirt out there and there's a lot of debris out there.

Alright? And so we're a lot like those nets. We need cleansing. We need to be washed. And not only that, sometimes mending needs to take place. Things need to be mended. Just like the nets need to be mended and they need to be cleansed.

And so when you come to John 13 8 -9, there's the idea of cleansing. That's foot washing. Alright? And the Lord says, I have left you an example. This is something that each one of you can do for each other or one person can do for all.

Foot washing. Now, I'm not taking my boots off for anybody. I'm not talking about that kind of foot washing. Alright? But it's like applying the Word of God to an individual in a kind sort of a way. Not an old rough towel, but kind of a soft, smooth towel.

You like them? I do too. And then when you come to 1 John 1 9, you have the Christians borrow soap. Alright? If we confess our sins, that's it. He is faithful and just and forgives our sins. Cleanses from all unrighteousness.

And then when it comes to the mending, you go to Philippians 4 and verse 2 and there was a little riff between two of the Christians there and Paul was simply suggesting that maybe you'd like to mend that riff if it's possible.

So there you have cleansing. The idea of cleansing. The idea of mending. The nets. And that's something that is vital in your life and mine as well. Now it's vital that you and I consistently and carefully read the Word of God.

Every day. Every day. Very conscientiously and consistently reading God's Word. You know when I was younger I could read the Word of God and I could retain what I read. Now I read the Word of God and it's just like it's going through a sieve.

But some of the old brethren used to teach us years ago, even though it may be the Word of God is going through you like a sieve and you're not retaining as much as you used to retain, keep reading the Word of God because it has a cleansing effect.

If you run water through the sieve it'll keep the sieve clean. So there's a reason to read the Word of God. And that's how you and I can keep washed up if I put it that way. Keep our lives clean and our thoughts pure.

Maintaining a clear commitment and testimony before the dear unsaved. And this reading of the Word of God is absolutely vital in relation to that. You and I don't have any problems sitting down. I had two bowls of chili about 4 .30 this afternoon.

Boy were they good. And crackers too. Soda crackers. And the only time I ever drink any milk is when I'm eating chili and I had a half a glass of milk along with my chili. And I'll tell you what, it was really, really good.

And it tasted good. Made me feel good. And did a lot of things for me. Filled that kind of empty void in my stomach. So I didn't miss a meal. And you know, you and I need that in a spiritual sense too.

We need to feed upon the Word of God. We need to have a little lunch every day. I can put it that way. I know more sophisticated preachers probably would phrase that differently, but that's really the idea.

We need to feed upon the Word of God to nourish us, to encourage us, to keep our thoughts pure and keep our lives clean and keep our testimony consistent and so on and so forth. Because you know, if we don't do that, they'll be just like those fish.

They avoid a dirty net. And you see, they'll begin to avoid us. And what they'll really do is begin to question the reality of Christianity. So that's vitally important. So I take it that's the idea of weaving the net.

And then working that net. And then washing that net. And then mending that net. We're just like nets. And we need all of those things. Alright? And there's one more little idea here. It's the idea of worshiping the nets.

Worshiping the Provision Instead of the Provider

How can I worship the net? You know, sometimes a person can begin to depend upon the provision. And we kind of forget the provider. That's what that man in Luke 12 was doing, you know. He had barns to build.

He had fields to harvest. He had fruit to pick. And God had been so good to him, He had so much that He didn't have anywhere to bestow His fruits. So He said, this is what I'll do. So He's beginning to plan this thing all out of His mind.

So I'll tear down those barns and I'll build bigger. And I'll say to my soul, Soul, eat, drink, and be merry. Take thy ease. And then God said something to him. But God said, Thou fool this night, thy soul shall be required of thee.

Then who shall these things be? Well, they weren't going to be His. Because He was going to leave the poor, groaning world behind. So here's a man that was just simply moving through his life like a lot of people do.

And he was just depending upon the provision. And he never, ever thought about the provider. It was His fields, His fruit. It was His barns. It was His prosperity. You know the sad thing about this man, and I've mentioned it before, He left this world in a strange sort of way.

His plans were never fulfilled. He never got His barns built. And He never got His corn harvested. And He never got His peaches picked. And He never got His soul saved. So the Word of God leaves that for you and me to determine something in our minds.

Was He really rich? Well, He wasn't rich toward God. So I take it that He wasn't really rich. He was rich insofar as this world was concerned. A man that was depending solely upon the provision. But He was a man that had never, it appears as the Word of God goes along, it appears that this man never, ever thought about the provider.

The One that provided all the provision. And I think in that sense, you and I can worship the net. We can worship the provision. We can put more value on things of time and sense than the things of God.

The old natural man that every one of us has, the old fallen nature, just would dearly love to do that. And it would have an absolute tendency to do that. To put more value on things that I can see and things that I can touch, those little things that are all going to burn up someday than the things of God.

You know, the things that I can see and feel and touch no matter what they are, they're temporal. They're just temporal. But the things of God are eternal. They'll still be there when all the temporal things are gone.

The things of God will still be there. And they'll be there forever and ever and ever. And the treasures of earth might be gone. And they're no doubt in the hands of someone else. And if someone else doesn't get it in their hands, I'll tell you who will.

The government will. So it'll all be in the hands of someone else. But those treasures, those things that we pile up, treasures in heaven, they're going to be for all the endless ages of eternity. They'll go on and on and on.

You know, when John wrote in his epistle, he said this, little children, keep yourself from idols. What are idols? Little wooden men that we set on the counter. I was noticing somewhere here lately in some town, I'm getting it, it was somewhere between Sturgeon Bay and Green Bay.

Now you know right where it was at. And it was off on a side road and the advertisement on the main road was this. The oldest general store in the state of Wisconsin. Roy and I, we were heading down the road and I said, Roy, we've got to go to the store.

He said, what store? I said, the oldest store in the state of Wisconsin. And he goes, yeah, sure. So I took that for a yes and I turned off and we went down to the store and we drove into this little community and there was a store in that town in a really big Catholic church.

And they were Czechoslovakians. That's who lived in the neighborhood. So he goes into this old rickety store and whoever owned the store, his name was Jerry, his wife had a quilting supply store there.

And it was all full of threads and needles and quilts and quilting machines and this and that and the other thing. And he was selling this quilt material out just like he was selling bagels. And the folks were coming in the front door and piling their arms full of this stuff and carrying it out to make quilts.

Oldest store. How did I get on that? I don't know. But anyways, that's where we were at. So I was going to tell you something about that. I was going to apply that some way and I lost track of it, but I was enjoying telling you the story.

So what's most important? Quilts? Idols. Idols, yeah. Idols. Oh, that's it, yeah. So we're driving into this wee bitty town and there was a statue of Mary in these hat bathtubs in every yard. There's the idol.

I said to Roy, I said, we're in the land of idols. He said, I said, looky there, every yard you go by, and there wasn't really all that many houses there up on that little hilltop. I said, looky there, every house you go by, there's Mary standing out there in the cold weather in this half a bathtub.

I said, there's their idols. And away we went. And we left. And we didn't buy any quilting stuff. And we weren't too interested in the idols either. But I tell you what we did do. We went to a place called Twin, no, Three Rivers.

And there was an advertisement there, 99 cent hamburgers and homemade soup. Well, we pulled in there and we got a 99 cent hamburger and the best soup I've ever eaten. Except for this afternoon. So what's really most important to you and me?

The Gospel Net and the Salvation of Souls

I take it that the most important thing in relation to this world for you and me is souls. The salvation of souls. They're just everywhere. Everywhere. Not soil, not silver, but souls. You know what Mr. Ballhagen, I probably mentioned this before too.

My world's all too small. Mr. Ballhagen, he used to mention this when he'd get done praying. He'd say, Lord, in a minute, give us more love for the lost. Maybe that's what we need. More love for the lost.

And the compassion to be courageous enough to cast the gospel net to them and see if that fish will go into the net and be caught and be used for the glory of God. It's a wonderful message we have. And we are the fishers of men.

Every one of us. Every child of God is a fisher of men. You fish in your small little fishing hole and I fish in my small little fishing hole. And we don't all have to stand on a platform and preach publicly, but we can drop a little word in their ear in a private sort of way and maybe just set the Word of God before them in a kind way.

Not necessarily preaching to them or preaching at them. You know, I like something Mr. Davison would say and he didn't say it every night and he didn't say it every other night, but he might say it one night or two nights out of the week when he was preaching.