s, for men's sake; splendid men, befooled
about Jesus, who can get Him only through us in touch with Him--for men's
sake, in Jesus' great Name.

Deep-Sea Fishing: The Ambition of Service.

A Water Haul.
Living up in the Spirit Realm.
Saved to Serve.
Ambition in Service.
Use What You Have.
Expectancy in Service.
Jesus Went into the Deeps.

Deep-Sea Fishing: The Ambition of Service.

(Luke v:1-11.)

A Water Haul.

Jesus was very fond of the outdoors. The Gospels have a woodsy smell. He
taught in the synagogues, but He seemed to prefer the open air. He would
go out on a country road, or down by the beach of the Galilean lake, and
the people would eagerly gather around Him, and He would talk to them. One
morning He had gone down to the lake shore. The people crowded in about
Him and He commenced as usual to talk to them.

But so eager were they not to miss a word that they pressed in about Him
very close. He was standing with His back to the water likely, and the
people seemed likely to crowd Him over into the water. So He looked around
for something to do. He was ever practical to the point of being
matter-of-fact. A practical idealist was Jesus, _the_ practical Idealist.
Peter was down there, just a short distance off, with his partners and
crew in their fishing boats, cleaning up after the night's haul. Lifting
His voice a little, Jesus called out, "Peter, will you pull around here,
please."

And Peter did. And Jesus, stepping into the boat, sat down, and went on
talking to the people. Interruptions never seemed to disturb Him. He
seemed to regard them in the light of possible index fingers pointing out
the next thing to be done. Every missionary, foreign and home, has to get
practised in just that, while holding steady to his underlying purpose.

When He had finished talking, He turned to Peter and said quietly, "Launch
out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught." And Peter smiled
at the very idea, as he said, "Master, we've been out the whole night, and
haven't caught a thing, nothing but a water haul, but"--with a thoughtful
earnestness taking the place of the critical smile--"if you say so, of
course we will." And the Master said so. And now they can't handle the
haul.

I want to bring to you anew this old word of command from Jesus' lips:
"Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught." These
men in the story had failed.