We Have Toiled and Taken Nothing

Luke 5:5

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.

Jesus was teaching at the lake of Gennesaret when two ships came to shore with men that fished all night and did not catch one thing. These men had to be tired and a bit irritated that they fished all night and caught nothing. Jesus said to them, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. Simon, a professional fisherman, answered Jesus that they had toiled all the night, and had taken nothing. Yet, they chose to show Jesus they knew more than Him by going back out and letting down a net. When they let down the net, their net was so full that it began to break.

Many believers who serve the Lord find themselves where Simon and the others with him found themselves; they have toiled and taken nothing. We are not talking about lazy people who do nothing, but we are talking about people who are toiling in the ministry and don't see any results out of it. Do you find yourself in this situation? Let me share several things you must do to start getting results.

First, don’t stop letting down the nets. You will never see results if you stop letting down the nets. Many people gave up when they were about to see a miracle of results. The people to be reached are still out there, but you most certainly won't find them if you stop soul winning.

Second, work harder. When Jesus told them to go back out and let down the nets, He was telling them to work a little harder. You may not be as talented as others who see great results, but you can outwork them and see greater results. There is no substitute for hard work in the ministry. Nobody has built a great ministry without hard work.

Third, let down more nets. So, you have not seen results in your ministry; part of the answer is to let down more nets. The more nets you let down, the greater chance you will have of seeing people getting saved. Instead of backing up on your soul winning when you have no results, you would be wise to increase your soul winning efforts. The more effort you put into soul winning, the better chance you have of seeing more people saved.

Fourth, launch out into the deep. Do something big by faith. God always honors faith, so when you have toiled and taken nothing, it is time to do something big to see if God won’t honor your efforts. God always honors hard work and faith, and attempting something bigger is how you get God to show His power to give you results. Plan a big day and work hard for that day, and you will find God will honor those efforts.

Fifth, get God’s power on your life. These men made a telling statement when they said, WE HAVE TOILED all the night. The problem was that they toiled in their power and not in the power of Christ. When they went in the power of Christ is when they inclosed a great multitude of fishes. You can toil in your power and take nothing, or you can work in the power of the Holy Spirit and find a great multitude of souls saved. Nobody has done a miraculous work without the power of the Holy Ghost on their lives. You can toil and kill yourself, or you can get God’s power on your life through prayer, hard work, and cast out more nets, and you will find the great results that God wants to give to you.