July 1931
302
T h e
K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
Furthermore, the disciples were ably led. There was no better leader in Galilee than Peter, who had been de veloped by grace and trained by the Leader of leaders, Jesus Christ. Although they were so ably directed, they caught nothing. Why did they not succeed? They failed because Christ had willed it so. The failure, therefore, was a blessing, because everything that comes from the hand of Christ to His children is a blessing, and may become a rich bene fit to the believing soul. This failure, because Christ willed it, was a prelude to success. If we follow Him and do His bidding, success will come ultimately. It may not be according to the standards of this world, but it will be success as God measures it. M orn C ometh The night at last came to an end. Darkness must cease. Midnight cannot last forever. We read, “The mor ning was now come.” Notice the contrast. Details now multiply. We find that “Jesus stood on the shore.” Where ha^d He spent the night? Had He been with the fishermen? Had He watched their toiling? We do not know. But He appeared as He had appeared before, suddenly. And “the disciples knew not that it was Jesus.” They may have been listless because of fatigue. Men who have toiled laboriously find it difficult to concentrate. The Lord may have appeared to them in another form, as He appeared to Mary in the form which led her to believe that He was the gardener. Christ is very human. He is very God of very God, but he is also the Son of man. He said unto the disciples, “Children, have ye any meat?” Anything that interests us is of interest to Christ. T h e C ommand The brief reply of the tired disciples was simply, “No.” Then came the command, “Cast the net on the right side of the ship.” The command was, “Cast.” The promise was, “Ye shall find.” Promise always follows command. If the command is obeyed, then the promise is fulfilled. T h e R esult
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but grace changed them. James and John were brothers, but John was naturally drawn to Peter. These two, Peter and John, were opposites by nature, but one in Christ. What a team they made ! There were two other disciples who are unnamed. There is a place in the church for such. God needs men of ten talents, and of five talents, but He also needs men of one talent. To all faithful ones, whether they have ten talents, five talents, or only one talent, Christ will say in the day that is coming: “Well done, good and faithful servant.” T ogetherness It is written that these men were together. They were together in the house of Peter. They were together in the ship. They were together in Christ, and, therefore, together for eternity. Togetherness is of God, and in it there is strength. Only a living Christ could have drawn these disciples together. When the Shepherd was smitten, the sheep were scattered, but the risen Christ was the magnetic center that drew the disciples together again. The fact that the church has continued these thousands of years is proof that the Head of the church is risen and living. The disciples were not pillars in the temple. They were not outstanding men in the world. They were not of the ecclesiastical set. They were unknown even in Jewry. Yet through them God moved the world. God trains His disciples in obscurity and teaches His leaders in places of solitude. To W ork Peter said, “I go a fishing.” The water and the ship were near by, so why not go? Peter was the spokesman and the leader. He said, “I go.” The other disciples fol lowed his example. As leaders go, so the people go. The sheep will follow the shepherd. The disciples went to the ship. Notice the definite article. It was not only a ship, but it was the well-known boat. This was the boat wherein Jesus had sat, the boat wherein He had taught, the boat wherein He had slept,
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the boat that had carried Him often from shore to shore, on the Sea of Galilee. B lessed F ailure “That night they caught noth ing.” We do not know what they thought. We do not know what they said. We do not know whether or not the night was starless. We do not know anything about the visible or the invisible circumstances sur rounding the case. All we know is that “that night they caught noth ing”—yet they were experts. There were no better fishermen in all that region. Experts in any line may fail; even church experts do not always get one hundred per cent results. Nevertheless, these men were in the will of God. Christ told them to go to Galilee, and to Galilee they went. They were where Christ want ed them to be. Yet they caught noth ing. They were not lazy. They must
Look at the result—“a multitude of fishes.” This speaks of Christ’s omniscience; He knew where the fish were. It speaks of His omnipo tence; He directed the shoal of fish into the disciples’ net. We see here a picture of ourselves, not on the eternal shore yet, but out on the sea of life. We are fishers of men. We are to cast the net. It is the will of God that we draw numerous lost souls into the kingdom. As Christ stood on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, so now He stands on eter nity’s shore, watching us as we work, directing our efforts. As we work in His name and by His Spir it, He helps us. No work that is done in His name is fruitless. And until the morn cometh, the
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Not Try, But Trust ^T ) ot saved are we by trying, -*■1 From self can come no did; ’Tis on the blood relying, Once for our ransom paid; ’Tis looking unto Jesus, The holy One and just; ’Tis His great work that saves us; I t is not try, but trust. No deeds of ours are needed To make Christ’s merit more; No frames of mind or feelings Can add to His great store; ’Tis simply to receive Him, The holy One and just, ’Tis only to believe Him; It is not try, but trust.
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—E. C. T aylor .
church is to cast the net. The individual is to go out into the highways and the hedges and to bid the lost to come to Christ. “Let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”
have rowed from favorite place to favorite place and let down the net often, for they toiled all night. It is possible to do things in the right way, at the right time, in the right place, and still get no results.
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