"EIGHT DOLLARS SHORT!"
Written and preached by David P. Nolte


LUKE 5:1-11

Peter and the other fishermen had hoped that they would accumulate a profitable catch. Their livelihood depended upon what they caught, so this was a vital part of their lives. Things don't always work out as we think they will, and though they fished all night, their nets came up empty time and again. Finally, after the best fishing time had ebbed away, they headed for shore, disappointed, tired, and chagrined. Their situation reminds me of a story I heard about a little boy. He went to a police department auction of bicycles. It was his fondest desire and anticipation to take one of those bicycles home for his own. In a way, he is a lot like Peter and his fellow fishermen. He expected to get a bicycle and the disciples expected to get a haul of fish. So, what do we see in the text?

  1. ANTICIPATION: THE FISHERMEN EXPECTED A CATCH: V5:
    1. They had every reason to anticipate success: they were seasoned fishermen, they had the right equipment, the time was right. And they stuck to it all night thinking surely the next pulling of the nets would be profitable.
    2. Each of us has expectations in life. Some of them are unrealistic; some of them are fanciful; some of them are selfish; some of them are noble.
      1. Some expect their marriage to be like in the fairy tales or Brady Bunch, all bliss and problems solved in a simple manner. 
      2. Some expect the world to provide them a free living.
      3. Some expect others to cow-tow to their every whim.
      4. Some expect to sail through life always taking the easy way out.
      5. Some expect to earn their salvation by doing enough good, religious works.
      6. Some expect to get what they want when they want as they want it just because they want it.
    3. There is a problem with focusing too much on our expectations. To focus primarily on our expectations has the tendency to 
      1. make us suffer a lot of needless disappointment when our expectations fail to materialize.
      2. make us forget our obligations, responsibilities and duties.
      3. make us self-centered, self-absorbed, and self-seeking. 
    4. The fishermen expected a catch of fish. There was nothing unrealistic, unholy or unworthy about that expectation, but it was, for that day, out of reach.
The boy had saved up his money and was eager to get to spend it on a bicycle. So, each time the auctioneer started the bidding, the boy would say, "I bid one dollar, sir." The bidding would continue higher and higher until each bicycle was sold to the highest bidder. Each time the boy would bid one dollar. Each time somebody else outbid him and took the bike. Each time the boy's disappointment grew. He's sort of like those fishermen. They went out optimistic of a good catch of fish but as night began to abate in the faint light of early dawn, and with every retrieval of the barren nets their hopes dwindled and their disappointment increased. They had great expectations, but what more do we see in the text? We see:
  1. DISAPPOINTMENT: THEY EXTRACTED EMPTY NETS: V5:
    1. With each drawing in of the nets their discouragement deepened and their expectations dwindled. 
    2. Sometimes our highest expectations take the deepest plunge. Our realities fall far short of our objectives. Our anticipations fail. Our nets come up empty.
    3. We may
      1. try humbly and sincerely to reconcile with someone and they rebuff our efforts. Our nets come up empty and we suffer disappointment!
      2. work our hardest to please our spouse, our parents, our friends or our boss and all our finest endeavors are unappreciated. Our nets come up empty and we suffer disappointment!
      3. burn the midnight oil, crack the books from cover to cover and still not make the honor-roll. Our nets come up empty and disappointment sets in!
      4. struggle diligently to break a bad habit, get free from an addiction, overcome a besetting sin, or clean up our language and the very thing we hate most is what we find ourselves doing time and again. Our nets come up empty and again we are disappointed!
    4. Like the fishermen, sometimes we pull in empty nets no matter how we try; we suffer disappointment, disillusionment, distress and depression. But it wasn't the final word for the fishermen and disappointment doesn't have to be the end of the story for us.
The little boy began to think that disappointment would be the last word, however. Bicycle after bicycle was sold to the highest bidder. As the last bicycle to be sold was brought forth, the little boy said, "I bid one dollar, sir." The figures in the bidding rose higher and the auctioneer finally closed the bidding at nine dollars to the little boy in the front row. Then the auctioneer reached into his pocket and pulled out eight dollars and laid them on the counter; the little boy came up and put his one dollar in nickels, dimes and pennies alongside it, picked up his new bike, and started out the door. And just when the fishermen thought their night's labor was for nothing, and Peter felt that he was about to embark upon a fool's errand, Jesus stepped in and made the difference. In effect, He laid His eight dollars alongside Peter's one. So we also see:
  1. PROVISION: JESUS EXECUTED A MIRACLE: V6:
    1. Dr. Barclay suggests that this was no miracle, but that Jesus, with keener eyesight than the others, saw where the fish were lying above a sunken shoal. But why didn't Peter see them? Why didn't this seasoned fisherman, who knew where the fish lurked, know where to find them? No, this was not the result of Polarized eyes; it was Divine intervention.
    2. Jesus was not only providing for their pocketbook. He had a larger mission, a greater purpose, a more lofty vision. He wanted them to follow Him as a result of this sign.
    3. Jesus does provide for us; He does perform miracles when it suits Him. But please be aware of these truths:
      1. Jesus is not in the Sears Catalog business. 
      2. He is not a vending machine simply waiting the insertion of our prayer coins. 
      3. He has put out no "free lunch" sign. 
      4. He has made no covenant or promise to give us everything we want in the size, shape, color, model, and brand we ask. 
      5. Prayer is not a requisition form just waiting His rubber stamp. 
      6. We are given no promise if we ask in doubt, or selfishly, or with sin in our hearts.
    4. He has promised to meet our needs and to give us our daily bread, and to bless us beyond our capacity to understand it. 
      1. Those promises, however, are spoken to those who are faithful. He often does provide for the faithless and ungodly; but his covenant to do so is with those who serve Him as Lord. 
      2. And when we come up eight dollars short, when we've cast in our nets and come up empty, He has the resources to provide and does so, often in miraculous ways.
The auctioneer, motivated by kindness and sympathy, provided for the boy. He added his eight dollars to the boy's one and enabled the boy to purchase the bike. Nothing could have made the boy happier than to have his own bicycle. Just as he was hurrying away from the auction, the little boy realized fully what the kind man had done for him. Quickly he laid the bike down, ran back to the auctioneer, threw his arms around his neck and cried. And when it dawned upon Peter how this great quantity of fish had come to be, he was amazed, humbled and grateful. Finally we see:
  1. SURRENDER: PETER EXHIBITED A PROPER RESPONSE: VV8-11:
    1. When Peter realized what had happened, when he recognized the enormity of the catch, when he perceived the miraculous nature of the event, he responded. One thing about Peter was that he was uninhibited and expressive.
    2. Peter's humility grew out of an awareness
      1. That Jesus did, indeed, know what He was talking about, though Peter had at first doubted it.
      2. That this provision of fish was no fluke, nor was it the lucky guess of a carpenter who knew little about the vocation at which Peter was an expert. It was nothing short of miraculous providence.
      3. That Jesus is worthy of being followed, served, and obeyed.
    3. Peter was blessed and made a proper response. The other fishermen recognized the blessing and made a proper response. 
    4. When Jesus blesses you, what is your reply to Him? How do you respond to His work in your life? 
      1. Do you think it is your due? Do you think you have it coming? Do you take it for granted?
      2. Do you see it as the Hand of the Almighty turned in your favor? Do you recognize it as providential sustenance? 
In the final analysis, there are only two responses Jesus will recognize: to resist Him or to yield to Him. Which is it for you? When we come to the moments of decision and dedication, we urge you to consider what you will do with Jesus. The auctioneer paid the needed eight dollars. The young boy expressed overflowing gratitude. Jesus provided the needed catch. Peter expressed humility and repentance. Jesus gave His life on the cross to provide what you and I lack. If we try to stand before God on our own we are only able to bid one dollar; all our good works, our highest intentions, our most sincere resolutions, our most noble efforts fall eight dollars short. But Jesus paid it all. So, in light of what He has done for you on the cross, how will you respond? Realizing His infinite grace and mercy, His great heart of love, and the price He paid, how will you answer His call to come and follow Him?

By Elder Featherstone, Submitted by Jack ZoBell from "A Cup of Chicken Soup for the Soul." Copyright 1996 by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen & Barry Spilchuk 

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