The Art of Net-Making
(This Weekly Prayer Summary was written by Lisa Ang, assistant director of the CBC English Prayer Ministry, and edited by Brigitta Tedja)
Watch full sermon here.
When Bishop Bart, the spiritual father of Apostle Paul Tan, comes with his wife, Coralee, it is a special time of family and their visitation always leaves an indelible deposit of the presence of God and His direction for CBC. It is good to be under such godly covering. Sunday was also a special and momentous day in CBC’s history with the ordination of Pastor Dion Kurniadi and Pastor James Sudarsono. It was a glorious weekend!
Bishop Bart began the sermon by reminding us that we need to change some things in our lives to help us face the days ahead. A certain thing that we can change is in the way we view things that happened. Whatever may have happened, if we change the way we view it, circumstances will begin to change.
Bishop Bart provided an example of when he prayed for a young man studying medicine in Johns Hopkins who went to his church and was about to transfer to Texas for a medical internship. This young man was from Nigeria and Bishop knew nothing about him. Bishop was supposed to pray for him, but the Holy Spirit prompted Bishop to pray for this young man’s father instead. Bishop obeyed and prayed for his father. He prophesied that his father will one day become the president. Unbeknownst to Bishop, this young man’s father was a political prisoner in Nigeria. He was jailed and his family did not know his whereabouts. Many years later, while on a trip to Nigeria, Bishop was “taken” to meet with the president of Nigeria. It turned out that the young man with whom Bishop prayed for years before is the president’s son. The president shared how his wife sent Bishop’s prophetic words in a note to him while he was in prison. The note said that one day he will hold the highest position in his nation. Every night that he spent in prison, he would take it out of his pillow and read it, believing that one day it will become a reality. The words written in the note were what sustained him during those dark hours.
We live in a day where we really need to hear and obey God.
We must get into the position where God can do something wonderful through us.
The art of net-making and mending is an important factor in a church’s life and growth. God’s chosen leaders must understand how to weave God’s people into a spiritual net that will be used by the Holy Spirit. The net represents relationships that are being nurtured by the leadership so as to bring cohesiveness to the church. There are times when the net gets torn and times when the net becomes dirty and it needs to be both mended and cleaned.
The fishing net becomes dirty because when the fish are caught, some of their gills get caught in the net and they die in that net. The scent of the dead fish will cause other fish to avoid the net, so no more fish can be caught using that net unless it is cleaned.
Matthew 4:18-21 “And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then, He said to them, ‘Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.’ They immediately left their nets and followed Him. Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them.”
There are several principles from the above verses that we can learn from:
Mending the net
Washing of the net
Casting the net
Luke 5:1-10 “So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat.
When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, ‘Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.’ But Simon answered and said to Him, ‘Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless, at Your word I will let down the net.’ And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. So, they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!’ For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.’”
John 21:1-11 “After these things Jesus showed Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and in this way, He showed Himself: Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples were together. Simon Peter said to them, ‘I am going fishing.’ They said to him, ‘We are going with you also.’ They went out and immediately got into the boat, and that night they caught nothing. But when the morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Then Jesus said to them, ‘Children, have you any food?’ They answered Him, ‘No.’ And He said to them, ‘Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.’ So, they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish. Therefore, that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, ‘It is the Lord!’ Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment (for he had removed it), and plunged into the sea. But the other disciples came in the little boat (for they were not far from land, but about two hundred cubits), dragging the net with fish. Then, as soon as they had come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, ‘Bring some of the fish which you have just caught.’ Simon Peter went up and dragged the net to land, full of large fish, one hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not broken.’”
Sometimes when we have a load of fish, the net does not break even though there may be many fish that are caught; but there are times when the net will break because there are many fish. When the net is broken, we need to stop fishing to mend or fix the net.
Matthew 13:47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind.”
Each church is a net, and it is a net that has to work!
Our net cannot be just one kind, it has to be many kinds, just as Matthew 13:47 mentioned, because there are many kinds of people in this sea of humanity.
Ecclesiastes 4:12 “Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him.And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”
The calendar year is 2023 and we entered into the year 5783 on the Hebraic calendar. It is the year of the Biblical numerology “3”. We will see many things that represents the number “3” this year, such as a threefold cord is not easily broken.
The Net Principles
The Net
The net represents structure. Every church needs to have a correct biblically-based structure. City Blessing Church is an apostolic church with a foundation of apostles and prophets, you are in the right alignment. Every church has a “net”.
A net is made by interlocking and twisting threads into points where they cross each other. The strength of the net depends on the number of twists or knots made. The net must be pulled and stretched into place.
The Net Provides:
Safety
Fellowship
New friends
Teamwork
Joy in serving
Power of God present
Unity
Accountability to the net
You need to be connected to the net
A popular type of fishing net is called a “gill net”. It is made to trap the fish’s gill as the fish breathes so that it cannot escape because their gills will get caught in between the net strings. The gill net has different sizes made to catch different type of fish.
There are knots called “see nothing” knots. Every string or nylon that forms a net are tied in a knot over and over with each other. The knots break up the continuation of the string and the fish swim right into the knots. As a string, they each have their own identity, but once the strings are tied with knots to form the net, its own identity disappears and it becomes one knot among the many knots that form the net. When God touches you, saves you, and anoints you, you began to disappear and only God will be seen. The knots mean that we are tied together with our brothers and sisters in Christ to such a degree that the individual cannot be seen and all that can be seen is the net that ties us all together.
2. Leadership Net
The leadership net consists of those who submit themselves to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. The leadership net needs to be involved into the church’s net. The leadership net represents the leadership team who are joined and knitted together by the Holy Spirit into a network ofcov enanted relationships that are governed by covenanted commitment. A covenant always involves blood-shed. A covenant with Jesus involves the shedding of Jesus’s blood.
Within the leadership net, a process occurs:
Fellowship: Active role with a group of people to make sure the “ship” can function and make its back to shore safely. Everybody has a part.
Relationship: When you are together moving towards the same goals or fighting the same battles, strong relationships are developed
Partnership: It means you own it, I own it
Friendship: People who we can trust with our lives
Numbers 11:17, 25, 29
Verse 17 “Then I will come down and talk with you there. I will take of the Spirit that is upon you and will put the same upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, that you may not bear it yourself alone.”
Verse 25 “Then the Lord came down in the cloud, and spoke to him, and took of the Spirit that was upon him, and placed the same upon the seventy elders; and it happened, when the Spirit rested upon them, that they prophesied, although they never did so again.”
Verse 29 “Then Moses said to him, “Are you zealous for my sake? Oh, that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them!”
The above verses talk about the Spirit of God moving on us. The Spirit of God needs to move on the leadership net.
Proverbs 17:17 “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.”
* We are being knitted together because in the days to come, we need to know that we can stand with somebody.
Amos 3:3 “Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?”
3. Congregational Net
The congregational net is the body of Christ; God’s covenant people who are drawn together, twisted, tied, and crossed together by the Holy Spirit into a covenant and committed relationship. It is an important net because this is where the repair, mending, and the washing take place.
1 Corinthians 1:10 “Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.”
We need to let go of our individual spirit and become one with Christ and His Body. Unity commands the blessings of God.
Ephesians 4:16 “. . . from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.”
God wants to knit us all together because the harvest is coming. God is not sending a revival; He is sending a harvest! The things you prayed for will come to pass in this harvest.
Ephesians 2:21 “. . . in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.”
* We need to be firmly fitted together so that we can become the living stones that can be put in the right positions.
Colossians 2:2 “. . . that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ.”
* It is the love that we have for one another in the Body of Christ that people outside will see and be attracted to. People will know that we are His disciples because of our love.
1 Corinthians 12:12-13 “For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit, we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.”
* There needs to be unity and diversity in ONE body.
The Process
Covenant is important because it knits us together. A covenant of blood, recorded by all ancient civilizations, have always used blood as the covenant sealer—it is the most powerful and serious form of agreements that has ever been established. It is this form of agreement that God used to reveal His love to His people. God is a covenant-keeping God because He shed the blood of His Son.
Attributes of a Covenant:
Always mingled with blood
Always has a covenant site (the church is the site where the blood of Christ is shed as a cleansing agent for all men)
Representative selected - Genesis 15 (Abraham, God’s covenant is dependent on Him, not on us)
Each party in the covenant needs to walk on the site where the blood was shed
Ceremony: David and Jonathan
Covenant affirmation of unconditional love and agape love
Covenant of availability
Covenant of prayer
Covenant of openness (transparency)
Covenant of honesty
Covenant of sensitivity
Covenant of confidentiality
The covenant is the prophetic indictment against the kingdom of darkness and a prophetic decree establishing what God wants to do going forward.
The Importance of Mending the Net
Mending the net: to put in good condition again; to make whole; serviceable; something that has been broken down or damaged; to remove the fault; correct a defect.
Matthew 4:21 “Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets.”
Mark 1:19 “When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets.”
Galatians 6:1 “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.”
We need to care for one another. We need to belong to one another. The world is splintering and breaking apart. We need to know that there are people that we are in covenant with.
The net gets torn for whatever reason and the church cannot bring in the harvest unless the net is mended. Often times, we neglect the fact that we need to pause to mend the net. We cannot put out a net that is torn.
When the net is weak or broken, the fish will escape
When the net is weak, we cannot catch the big fish
Quickly repair the net and go back out to catch more fish. Do not spend prolonged amounts of time just to mend the net.
Use the right equipment to catch the right fish. You cannot catch a big fish with a net made to catch small fish. Sometimes we asked someone to do a job that they were never trained for, and in turn, it causes them to leave the church.
Matthew 12 says a house divided against itself cannot stand.
The Seven Net-Rippers:
Unresolved Offenses: When you have an offense against someone and you do not address it, it tears the net wide open. It is like poison, as bad as cancer, and it will eat you and rob God out of your life. The root of bitterness springs up and defiles many.
Uncontrolled Tongue: Produces ruin, constant murmuring or offending others cuts the net every single time. The tongue is a vicious instrument; it divides the church, set nations to wars. We need to put a guard over our mouths.
Unforgiving Spirit: You can damage lives and damage the work of God when there is unforgiveness
Matthew 18:21-35 “Then Peter came to Him and said, ‘Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made. The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, ‘Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt. But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’ So, his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. So. when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done. Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. So, My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.’”
Unfulfilled Expectations: Many times, we put false expectations on others
Unwise Leadership: Actions put unwise expectations on their people.
Unidentified Disloyalty: Disloyalty produces betrayal, betrayal is like the taproot of a tree, deep underground covered with mounds of emotions, self-imposed manipulations to keep it hidden. Disloyalty destroys churches and moves of God.
Uncontrolled Charisma: You can become so charismatic that you become crazy and you blame it on God. We need to understand that when God moves, He always brings the sense of God’s presence. We do not need charismatic manipulation.
These are the responsibilities of the church in 2023, a remnant and apostolic and prophetic church that will see an unprecedented end-time harvest. God is raising up leadership to help the net be tied together and to be stronger than it has ever been. Let us be in covenant so that we may all be effective during the harvest season.
Dion Kurniadi and James Sudarsono were ordained as pastors of City Blessing Church. It was a highly solemn and heavily anointed ceremony as they made a covenant with God and to His people. It was a God-moment, a day of His doing, a day of His election, a day of separation, a day that God designed and orchestrated. Let us create a strong congregational net to support both of them in their high-calling.
Be ready harvesters! Harvest is coming!
Prayer Points:
Pray for revelation to help us to understand the importance of the net in our church and how it pertains to the harvest theme
Pray that we will know when it is the time to clean the net, mend the net and cast the net
Pray for understanding and wisdom to understand the different types of NET in the church and how we each can be a part of the nets
Pray that we will commit to the covenant we have with God
Pray for God to prepare us for the harvest
Pray that we will form a strong Congregational Net to support our Leadership Net, which in turn creates a strong Church Net
Pray for Pastor Dion and Michelle and Pastor James and Sharon as they embark on this new season