Luke 5:3-6 (NKJV) 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 let down your nets for a catch.” But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking.
From the opening passage, we can learn two things from Simon Peter. First, he was open to having Jesus come into his sphere of influence and his life; second, he was obedient to the Master.
Simon Peter and his friends were professional fishermen, but they had caught nothing after a whole night’s toil. What a humbling and frustrating experience it must have been for them! Likewise, despite being professionals in different sectors of business, when our business is not recovering fast enough in the current market environment, it is also a humbling and frustrating experience for us.
It is wise to take the opportunity to seek the face of God, even if we have already sought His face and are walking in His will. Walking in God’s will does not exempt us from any storms in our lives. The good news is that we can be led by Him continuously, because we are in a close relationship with Him. We can have a conversation with God throughout the day, about the situations we are facing. He will lead us to make the necessary adjustments, no matter how minor, when we are in His perfect will for our lives.
You will realise how Jesus gave specific, even minor, details in the passage above. Truly, faith comes by hearing, and hearing the Word of God. They did exactly what Jesus instructed, despite having caught nothing the previous night and it not being the best time for fishing!
John 21:6 (NKJV) And He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish.
In the above passage, Jesus’ instruction on another occasion was “Cast the net on the right side of the boat”. Some of us might argue why not the left side? The answer is the fish were found on the right side and Jesus had ordered it that way! Therefore, we should just listen and obey! The substance of our faith is anchored in the Word of God that He has given to us.
Reflection: Have you unconsciously divided your life into sacred and secular? What keeps you from submitting your professional decisions to God’s command?
Sermon Series: Walk into the future with a word given by God
在你的话语中我必遵行
路加福音 5:3-6 有一只船是西门的，耶稣就上去，请他把船撑开，稍微离岸，就坐下，从船上教训众人。讲完了，对西门说：“把船开到水深之处，下网打鱼。” 西门说：“夫子，我们整夜劳力，并没有打着什么，但依从你的话，我就下网。” 他们下了网，就圈住许多鱼，网险些裂开，
从开篇的经文中，我们可以从西门彼得身上学习两件事。第一，他愿意让耶稣进入他的影响范围和生命当中；第二，他愿意顺服主。
西门彼得和他的朋友们是专业的渔夫，但他们整夜劳力，却一无所获。这对他们来说一定是一次非常谦卑和令人沮丧的经历！同样，尽管我们在不同的商业领域中拥有专业能力，当我们的事业在当前的市场环境中没有足够快速地恢复时，这对我们来说也是一次谦卑和令人沮丧的经历。
即使我们已经寻求过神的面，并且正在行在祂的旨意中，仍然应当把握机会继续寻求神的面，这是明智的选择。行在神的旨意中，并不意味着我们的人生不会经历任何风暴。好消息是，我们可以持续被祂引导，因为我们与祂拥有亲密的关系。我们可以在一天当中随时与神交谈，将我们所面对的处境带到祂面前。当我们行在祂为我们生命所定的完全旨意中时，无论调整多么微小，祂都会带领我们作出必要的改变。
你会发现，在上面的经文中，耶稣给出了非常具体，甚至细微的指示。真正地，信道是从听道而来，听道是从听见神的话而来。他们完全按照耶稣的吩咐去做，尽管他们前一夜毫无收获，而且当时并不是捕鱼的最佳时机！
约翰福音 21:6 耶稣说：“你们把网撒在船的右边，就必得着。”他们便撒下网去，竟拉不上来了，因为鱼甚多。
在以上经文中，耶稣在另一个场合给出的指示是：“把网撒在船的右边。”有些人可能会问，为什么不是左边？答案是，因为鱼就在右边，而耶稣就是如此吩咐的！因此，我们应当单单聆听并顺服！我们信心的根基，是建立在神赐给我们的话语之上。
默想：你是否在不知不觉中将自己的生命分为属灵和属世两个部分？是什么阻碍你将职业上的决定降服于神的命令？
讲章系列：带着神所赐的话语迈向未来