There are so many messages out there about salvation, repentance, producing good works, and having faith in God—all wonderful teachings from God’s precious holy written Word—but isn’t it interesting that when it was time for Jesus to choose his disciples, His first demonstration of kingdom power was to teach on the law of abundance and how to take a harvest (Luke 5:3-7). In fact, the catch of fish that Peter caught was so large it tore his nets and he needed the help of James and John to take in the catch. It also says in the same passage that the boats began to sink from the heavy load. Out of the many things Jesus could have used as an invitation to follow Him; He chose the message of abundance and then He followed the message with an extraordinary act of abundance.
The message of the kingdom encompasses abundance. Abundant life, abundant resources, abundant health, abundant grace, abundant power, abundant peace and so many other things too numerous to name. And out of all the things Jesus could have done to compel these young men to follow Him, it was an act of abundance that spoke to their hearts. The scripture says that amazement had seized Peter after the massive catch of fish (Luke 5:9). It was this act of abundance that caused Peter to repent for questioning the Lord’s command to cast his nets into the water after he had already endured a long night of effort to produce a catch yielding zero results.
The point is this; if we want to catch fish then we need to speak to people about God’s abundance.
When Jesus showed up in Peter’s boat, He didn’t point out Peter’s flaws, He spoke to Peter and His friends about the greatness of God and the abundance of the kingdom of God to meet every need; heal every heart; and change every life—in abundance. The message of God’s abundant goodness was more than enough to convict Peter of His sin. He certainly didn’t need Jesus to point out his faults; therefore, it is important for us to speak abundance into the lives of those God brings to us for comfort, for healing, for deliverance. We need to talk about how big our God is and share with the world that what He did for Peter and James and John, He can do for them and for their situation. All things are possible for anyone who chooses to believe (Mark 9:23).
God wants to show up in power for the lost in a big way and He especially wants to show up in abundance for His chosen ones. Does this mean we neglect to teach others about the need for repentance, or salvation, or blessing God with good works? Of course not, but when we need to capture the hearts of those God is seeking to bless. We need to go big with our messaging. Our testimony of God’s goodness should manifest amazement in the eyes and ears of the hearer. Yes, there will be times when we are to approach some in gentleness and with great caution, perhaps even treating them with kid gloves; but for the most part, we must be exuding the power of God in our personal lives and sharing what we know with others about the GREATNESS of God’s abundance. Abundant living! Abundant health! Abundant blessings! Abundant love! It is written in the good Book, “What no eye has seen, [and] no ear has heard, and no human heart has conceived—God has prepared these things for those who love Him.” (1 Corinthians 2:9). Woohoo! So the next time you have an opportunity to testify the love of Jesus to another soul, saved or unsaved, think about proclaiming the abundance of God to them and using examples from your own life that confirm His deep desire to amaze us with His goodness. I bet you’ll catch a lot more fish when you do.