THE SERMON ON THE BEACH The Dragnet

The parables of Jesus contain many secrets.But, the parable of the net holds the greatest secret of all.
It reveals the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ in the life of every person who ever lived .

Matt 13:47 "Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. 48 When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. 49 This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous 50 and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
This net is a dragnet.It has floats at the top while it drags the bottom of the sea, netting every fish.
The reason this net is like the kingdom of heaven is because it typifies the gospel.
The gospel is the good news of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, which affects all of us.Like a dragnet.
2 Tim 2:8 Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel,
The apostle Paul does not simply say remember Jesus Christ. Recalling his life, his compassion, his strength, his restraint, and his love.Because, the end of his life brought only hopelessness and despair. Also, Paul knew that he couldn’t simply tell us to live up to the memory of the example of Jesus Christ. That would have been the greatest mistake ever. Because we can’t live up to the life of Jesus Christ. So Paul says to remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead.
This is his good news because by the resurrection of Jesus, God has demonstrated before the whole world, that there is a completely different way for men and women to live life.And, to have hope.
And, that Jesus Christ, through his resurrection, is now available to all of us.All of the time.
So, when the dragnet of this good news catches each of us.We must act on it.Or reject it.
Rom 14:9 For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.

Now, it’s important that we understand that a net is not something that fish are looking for.
C.S. Lewis wrote this about man’s search for God in his book "Surprised By Joy"."To me, as I then was, they might as well have talked about the mouse’s search for the cat".
2 Cor 2:14 But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. 15 For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. 16 To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life.
And in "Letters To Malcolm", C.S. Lewis writes, "we may ignore, but we can nowhere evade the presence of God. The world is crowded with him. He walks everywhere incognito".
When the gospel message attaches itself, it forces individuals out into the open, where they manifest what they really are. Whether they are "good fish" or "bad fish".
The gospel is the ultimate truth.The "good" are those who deal honestly with this reality.The "bad" are those who turn their backs on God’s grace or at best, accept it religiously, where it causes no change.
1 John 3:14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death.
Contact with the risen Lord must change you.It brings new life to your spirit.It brings healing to your soul.It brings a new vitality to your body.And it brings a genuine, loving concern for others...

This is where this parable leaves you.This is where a risen Lord leaves you.
This net, which brings this good news will expose the truth of the gospel to you. And in you.
The question still remains before you.At the end of the age, as the angels separate the wicked from the righteous, throwing the wicked into the fiery furnace. Will you be weeping and gnashing your teeth?
Or will you receive the resurrection of Jesus Christ for you.And, as the apostle Peter writes.
1 Peter 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade-kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.