Kenneth Copeland - Your Time Of Abundant Harvest
Luke 5, verse 1. "And it came to pass as the people pressed upon him to hear the Word of God". I want you to underline that if you haven't already. " to hear the Word of God". He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret and saw two ships standing by the lake, but the fishermen were gone out of them and were washing their nets".
Now make you a little note right out beside that, they were not listening to him preach. They were working. They'd been up all night long and they weren't listening. They were washing their nets, plural. "He entered one of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people out of the ship. Now when he had let speaking, he said unto Simon, launch out into the deep and let down your nets, nets". What'd he tell him, go get all those nets. They were washing their nets, go get your nets for a draft or for a draught, a catch. "Simon answering said unto him, Master or Rabbi, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing. Nevertheless, at thy word, I will let down the net". What net?
It's easy to see what he's thinking, particularly when you meditate on it a while. He knows about fishing, Preacher's don't. Amen. But this isn't just anybody's Preacher. You'll notice Jesus didn't correct him, this very, very, very important information. He did not correct him. He didn't say, now Peter, I told you to get all those nets. He didn't correct him. He said, "We have toiled all the night and have taken nothing, nevertheless, at thy word, I will let down the net". He didn't correct him. "When they had this done, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes and their net broke. And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, filled both the ships so that they began to sink and their nets didn't break".
Now there's something going on here. Until they began to sink. Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees," couldn't get to his feet. The boat's full of fish and he didn't catch a one of 'em. Now something's goin' on here. I want to plug this right in here, the Lord as already let us know that 2019 is the year of abundant harvest. That was an abundant harvest and you can be right in the middle of abundant harvest and miss the whole thing, just by not listening and being disobedient and not hearing what the Lord shows you to do. Now then, Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees saying, depart from me, get back, get back, I am a sinful man oh Lord. He was astonished and all that were with him at the draft of the fishes, which they hadn't taken.
Let's go back in this. Number one, disobedience in offerings, a missed opportunity. He missed an opportunity here. Didn't he. Now, Peter did not want to do that. He didn't want to go. He's tired, he's worked all night long, hungry, he did not, he certainly didn't want to have to rewash those nets after they didn't catch anything, 'cause you can't catch anything on the Galilee in the daytime, the water's too clear. You throw the net, the fish see it and scatter, unless God's in your boat. Whoa. The creator of the fish. The only time, probably, ever, ever, ever, ever that every fish in that Galilee was up and around those boats. If the boats had been bigger, they'd have cleaned out the lake. What fish? What fish in that lake would have said, no Jesus, not today? No, no, no, no, no. Amen. Are you following me now? Stay with me because this is vitally important.
I want you to notice now, he sinned and he knew it. He knew he had. Didn't he? He said so. I'm a sinful man. He knew he had sinned. Let's go to the book of Malachi. Go to the book of Matthew and turn left one book. The very first chapter of Malachi, the seventh and the eighth verses. "You offer polluted bread upon my altar and you say where have we polluted thee? And that you say the table of the Lord is contemptible and if you offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? If you offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? Offer it now to the Governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person, saith the Lord of hosts. This is what got Cain in trouble. The first murder was over the tithe. That was God's tree, amen.
Do you ever stop and think what would have happened had they obeyed and took care of that tree and when the fruit ripened they picked it green. When the fruit ripened and it was time, and the Lord had time to teach them and would have said, bring me my fruit. Now, what does God do with your tithe? He spends it on you. On your spiritual development. Amen. Oh yeah. Right there in the book of Hebrews, you need to read the sixth, seventh and eighth chapter of the book of Hebrews and really get involved in it. Here men that die receive tithes, but there he receives... talking about Jesus, our high priest, our Melchizedek. There He receiveth him of whom it is witnessed he liveth. One translation says, he liveth forever. Hallelujah.
Now, follow me here. Peter was an Orthodox Jew. You remember when he was on the housetop and fell into a trance and he saw a sheet let down from Heaven, full of all manner of animals, and he heard a voice say, kill and eat Peter. He said, not so Lord. Not so Lord. Uh-uh. I've never let anything unclean come into my mouth. He's Orthodox. He knew what Malachi One said. Malachi is big, it's big in the Jewish community. He knew better than that. What had he done? He has an old net that, it's old, we're goin' out there and throw it a few times and the thing had rotten and we're gonna throw it a few times and then bring it back in and I won't even bother to have to wash that thing. The Preacher be satisfied and, oh brother, He knew what he had done.
Turn with me to John chapter 21. 21st chapter of John, sixth verse. I'll tell you what, let's start with the third verse. "Simon Peter saith unto them, I'm going fishing. They said to him, we're going with you. They went forth, entered into a ship immediately and that night they caught nothing". Here we go again. Now, this is after Jesus is gone to the cross and he's raised from the dead. "But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore, the disciples knew not that it was Jesus. Then Jesus said to them, children have you any meat? They answered him, no! And he said unto them, cast the net on the right side of the ship and you'll find. They cast therefore and now they were not able to draw it, they couldn't pull it, for the multitude of the fishes and it did not break". Uh. Are you listening? Those nets, I don't care how full you got those nets, they were stronger than that. It's not astonishing that the net broke.
Now, over the years, by not really carefully looking at this and I'll tell you how I first found out about it. Brother Savelle was preaching down in South Texas for a Pastor friend of his and mine and so I wasn't scheduled anywhere and so I said, hey Jerry I'll fly you down there man and you and I'll, we'll just go to church, 'cause I want to hear you preach brother. He said, good, let's do it. He and I jumped in the airplane and flew down there and we're sitting there on the front row. I'm sitting next to Jerry and Pastor is receiving the offering and this fifth chapter in the book of Luke and I'm just following along. I mean, I don't know how many times I read that. It's such a thrilling thing, a boat sinking, a net breaking load. Hallelujah. Yes, amen.
I'm sitting there and the Word of the Lord came to me and he said their net was rotten. I didn't say it out loud, I said, what you say? Again, he said, the net was rotten. I went back and read that and all of a sudden, I saw it. He didn't want to do that. That's the reason he didn't take but one net and he was insistent about it and told Jesus, I will let down the net and the Lord didn't say anything to him. He just let him foul it up. Just like he's let you and me both just foul it up and we come crawling back and say, oh Jesus and he's standing there and smiling at you. I told you! No, it didn't upset Jesus.
Another thing the Lord said to me, he said, they didn't know it, but they were about to walk off from that business. John, James, Peter, they didn't know it yet. But here, Jesus, look what he did for 'em. I mean, these were owners, Mr. Zebedee; John and James' dad, and Peter, they were owners, they were boat owners, they were owners in this business together, amen. They're about to walk off, they don't know it yet, but they're about to walk off. Jesus just financed. Whoa. Now they left without anything, they went to work for Jesus. They said, you don't bring anything with you boys, I'm gonna take care of ya. Of course they did that. But, think about the huge financial bonanza that Jesus furnished, Mr.Zebedee, two of his boys are leavin' and Peter's family.
Come on, is a amen in the group here anywhere? When he calls, he provides. Hallelujah. I just see, Peter said oh Jesus, I'm a sinful man and Jesus stand and said yeah, yeah, yeah, but you're going to work with me boy. Now, thank you Lord. Thank you Jesus. Let's look at Matthew 17 now. Don't you love the Word of God? Oh I do. 17:24; "When they were to Capernaum," home, that's Jesus' home. It sounds to me like some of you still fussing with that. But just in case. In the fourth chapter of Matthew, does your Bible have Matthew four in it? Mine does.
Verse 13. "Leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet". Jesus moved his headquarters and all to Capernaum. Take the time, look up Capernaum in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John and write out beside it, home. They went to Capernaum, they went home. Peter was from Capernaum. John was from Capernaum, James was from Capernaum. That's where they were raised and Jesus had his home and headquarters there.
Now then 17th chapter again and we'll go to the 24th verse. "When they were come home, they that received tribute money came to Peter and said, doth not your Master pay tribute? He said, yes, and when he was come into the house," not a house, the house, look for that in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The house. That's Jesus' house. "When they were come to the house, Jesus prevented him saying," Peter didn't get a chance to say anything about the taxes, boy you know that's something when your boss knows what you're doing before you get home. "'What thinkest thou Simon? Of whom to the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? Of their own children or of strangers'? Peter saith unto him, 'of strangers'. Jesus saith unto him, 'then are the children free? Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, go down to the lake, cast a hook', it didn't say a thing in the world about bait. Well okay. 'Cast a hook, take up the first fish that cometh up and when thou has opened his mouth, you will find a piece of money, that take and give unto them for me and thee'".
Now one thing its necessary for you and I to know, this is property tax. This is property tax. You notice Peter didn't argue with him this time. He just went fishing brother. There's something else, don't miss this, don't miss this, don't get so money-minded and so excited about catching a fish without any bait, some dumb fish just bit a raw hook. He's under command. I don't know where he got the money, he scooped it up off the bottom of the lake or someplace. Amen. Jesus said, the money's in the first fish.
Now if he had said, the money is in the mouth of the fish, that would have been one thing, but hey, come on, don't get so excited about the money that you grab the money, stick it in your pocket and throw the fish back. No, come on. No, no, no, no. No, no, no. That's supper. That first fish means there's more than one. Don't get so money-minded and get so excited that God can't supernaturally provide for you in other ways. Oh. Come on somebody, come on now. Hallelujah. Just keep fishing. Any fisherman knows you don't quit while they're bitin' brother. I mean, come on. Long as they're biting, keep hooking 'em. Amen. Glory to God. Hallelujah. I want you to know, he learned his lesson. Oh that rotten net. Man I mean, he is eager now to do whatever the master says do. Glory to God. Did you get anything out of it?