Everyone these days is looking for a harvest. There is a LOT of teaching out there on sowing and reaping, and here’s one about reaping. We should be specific as to what kind of harvest we want, and that is determined by the type seed we sow. But in this teaching, I would like to focus on the”size” of the harvest. There is more than one kind of harvest. So in order to determine what kind you are believing for, let me provide you with some choices. First, there are small harvests. They come from small sowing. We aren’t interested in a small harvest, are we? No one ever is. And there are bigger harvests that don’t break your net. And then there are harvests that break your net. “Supersize” is the usual request. I would like to describe the last two, being you are not interested in a small harvest, and let you choose which kind you’d rather have. I think you will be surprised at your choice. Don’t choose until you’ve read it all. I’m going to be teaching from Luke 5:1-11, and John 21:4-11, 15.
This is the King James version.
Luke 5:1-11,And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret,
2 And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets.
3 And he entered into 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.
4 Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.
5 And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.
6 And when they had this done, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake.
7 And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink.
8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.
9 For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken:
10 And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.
11 And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him.

You see, whenever God uses you to do something He needs done, He blesses you. And as you know, God is not a God of not enough, or just enough, but waaaaaaay too much! Well, Jesus needed a platform to preach the Gospel from, so He asked to borrow Simon Peter’s boat. Excuse, me, I meant ship. There’s a big difference, y’know. He launched out a little from land and started preaching. He likely did that to keep people from thronging Him, so it would be easier to teach, and from up on the ship, people would be better able to see Him and hear Him. Afterwards, in verse 4, Jesus said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. Simon said they had fished all night and caught nothing.
Do you know why they fish at night? Because if you fish during the daytime, the fish will see the nets and swim away from them. So you fish at night so they can’t see the nets, then you can easily catch them. Now, aren’t you glad you know that?
Well, anyway, Simon went on to say, Nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.
Notice anything different here? Jesus said, Let down your NETS. That’s plural. More than one net. In fact, Jesus was telling them to let down ALL the nets they had. Why? Because Jesus, the Master Fisherman, wanted to bless him big-time. Isn’t that just like Jesus, wanting to bless us exceeding abundantly above all we can ask or think?

 So what happened? Simon let down ONE net. Just ONE net. Not the NETS, as Jesus told him to do. Simon probably thought, What could Jesus possibly know about fishing, anyway? He’s a carpenter. Everyone knows you don’t fish during the day, right?
Well, guess what? Jesus knew a little more about fishing than Simon. There was so great a multitude of fish enclosed that the net broke. That’s a lot of fish. Unfortunately, there’s the story about the one that got away. In this case, a whole lot of them got away. How many? Who knows, but a broken net doesn’t hold as many fish as one that isn’t broken, that’s for sure.
But God wanted to bless him so much, that even a broken net couldn’t stop him. There were still so many fish in his broken net that he had to call his partners in another ship, and the load of fish nearly sank TWO SHIPS! That was a net-breaking harvest on the seed that Simon had sowed into Jesus’ ministry. That’s why I taught last time on seed, time, and harvest. God’s people need HARVEST!

 But they don’t need a net-breaking harvest. NO! Disobedience causes the net to break. They need their nets to hold all God has for them! I cannot stress obedience to God enough. What if Simon had obeyed Jesus and let down all his nets? Glad you asked! You see, most people would consider two nearly sinking shiploads of fish a good return on letting someone use their ship to speak from for a while. Most likely, the sale of those fish fed Simon, his family, his partners and their families for a long time. But God had something far better in mind for them. Had Simon let down ALL the nets, he and his partners likely would have spent several days getting them all to shore, and had so much more of a blessing, PLUS, he wouldn’t have had a broken net to fix. Remember, Jesus had just called Simon Peter into full time ministry, so this was to be his retirement fund from fishing. God can keep your net from breaking if you obey Him. How do I know that? Let’s look at a similar account in John 21:4-11:

But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus.
5 Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No.
6 And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.
7 Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher’s coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea.
8 And the other disciples came in a little ship; (for they were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits,) dragging the net with fishes.
9 As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread.
10 Jesus saith unto them, Bring of the fish which ye have now caught.
11 Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken.

This time, Simon Peter obeyed. It appears he learned his lesson from his net-breaking harvest, and didn’t want to spend the day fixing another net. Jesus told him to cast THE net, so that’s what Peter did. I like this part, Jesus told him to cast on the right side of the ship, and you shall find. Don’t you know, you can fish from the wrong side and miss your blessing? People do it all the time. Obedience is everything to God. You may not know it, but God wants to bless you even more than you want to be blessed, but disobedience stops the flow. Now, if Simon Peter, one of the twelve that spent over three years in the presence of Jesus could miss it, is it possible that we could miss it too? I think so.
Here we see Simon Peter, one of the twelve that Jesus called to be a fisher of men, back out fishing for fish. And this was even after Jesus was resurrected! Peter was still operating in the flesh, like most of us from time to time. The risen Savior had just invited them to breakfast, and here Peter was counting fish. How do I know that? Because verse 11 says, Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of GREAT FISHES. That means BIG fish! And that ain’t a fish story! A hundred and fifty three BIG fish. GREAT BIG FISH. We know because Peter counted them for us. A hundred and fifty three GREAT BIG fish. Wow! And Peter is so caught up (pun intended) with the fish that Jesus had to go to Peter, and I can just see Jesus standing there with his arm around Peter’s shoulder, looking at the fish with Peter, and saying in verse 15,
Simon, son of Jonah, lovest thou me more than these? These what? These fish! Peter was so excited about his catch that he forgot all about that Jesus had invited them to breakfast.
Jesus had to remind Peter of his calling. Remember, Jesus called him to be a fisher of men, not fish. And obedience is better than sacrifice, it is written. You see, this time when Jesus told Peter to cast THE net, he listened, and his net didn’t break. He got the full blessing God intended to give him, and with no sorrow attached.

If your harvest has not come in that you have been sowing for and believing for, don’t give up on it. Just go to the Lord and ask Him, Lord, has disobedience kept me out of the best of Your blessings? Is my net broken so it will not hold all You have for me? What would You have me to do, Lord, that I may be fully obedient to You?
And listen! Stay in His presence until He speaks to you. Then OBEY what He tells you!

People often tell me that they never seem to hear from God like I do. I hear from Him all the time! Why? Because I’m listening! Don’t spend all the time talking. God gave you one mouth, and two ears. So listen twice as much as you talk. It’s only a conversation with God if He gets to do some of the talking!

Remember, God wants you to have not only enough for your needs and that of your family, but plenty left over to sow for your next harvest! Your harvest comes not from your job, but from your giving. Broken nets equal lost blessings! As I say, Don’t be at the airport when your ship comes in! Don’t go for the net-breaking harvest, go for the net-not breaking harvest! You’ll be glad you obeyed the Lord instead of doing it your way.