Friday Night Notes

I'm afraid the boat is empty...

Just got back from 3 hours of street preaching. Now...I'm tired. It's been a very busy work week, so a few hours of evangelism really sapped the remaining energy I had.

Before going to bed though, I wanted to relay something my pastor mentioned in his prayer tonight just prior to us going out for evangelism. He prayed that the Lord would fill our boats as He filled Peter's boat. He was of course referring to Luke 5:1-7:

"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, And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets. 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. Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. 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. And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake. 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."

You know, Peter probably dropped his nets in the water the exact same way he had the night before. He probably fished the exact area all night and caught NOTHING! But when the Lord got involved, Simon's nets couldn't contain all the fish he had caught.

Salvation is of the Lord (Jonah 2:9b). When we go preaching, we are out fishing for men (Luke 5:10). If we catch much, little, or whether we toil all night only to catch NOTHING, it is the Lord's will. It is a comforting thought to know that our God is Sovereign, and that he does all his pleasure (Isaiah 46:10).

Oh yeah, I did have a little fun tonight on our street corner. The other side of the street from where we preach is a "no stop" zone. People often park there anyway to go to bars and pubs, some thinking they'll get away with it, others just don't notice the sign. Well, the by-law officer came by tonight, and gave out tickets to 4 cars. One by one, the owners returned and when they picked up their tickets I shouted:

"You got a ticket my friend because you parked in a "no stop" zone. You see the sign over there? You either didn't pay attention or you saw it and disregarded it. Now you'll have to pay a penalty for your transgression."

And then I put forward my John 3:36 gospel sign and said:

"Here is another sign you didn't pay attention to, or disregarded. What will it cost you?"



Prayer: Lord God, be glorified by our efforts to fulfill Your Great Commission. Save whom You will, harden whom You will. Sanctify us and help us to wait and hope for Your favour on our city, and indeed, on our country. I praise you, O God, for Your power, majesty, wisdom and for your abundance in grace and mercy. In Christ Jesus' name, my Lord and Saviour. Amen.