Are you a fisher of men?
Are you discipling people?
Matthew 4:18-20 reads :
"As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen.
'Come, follow me,' Jesus said, 'and I will send you out to fish for people.'
At once they left their nets and followed him.
Mark 1:16-18 reads :
"As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 'Come, follow me,' Jesus said, 'and I will send you out to fish for people.' At once they left their nets and followed Him.
Matthew 13:47-50 reads :
"Once again, the kingdom of Heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. 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.
This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous, and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.."
Now, on this recorded day in history, Jesus was relating to actual fishermen.. As fishermen they were equipped with the tools required to make a living catching fish.. But, instead of continuing their careers catching merely fish, He was giving them a chance to accomplish something much greater in discipling people.
Simon, Andrew, James and John were given the opportunity to bring truth and love to those who were lost, and show them that their only chance of salvation is placing their faith in Jesus Christ.. the true and only Son of God.
Four uneducated, low-status, hardworking men were called by God, specifically, to do something more than just catch some fish.. They were to become fishers of men.. and that they did.
This calling continues on through to today, with all of us.
We need to be working hard for God, we need to spread His Word to those who have not encountered it, and show people who have rejected it the truth, the love, the peace, and the salvation that can only be found by placing faith in the Lord.
These men left everything they had to follow Jesus. They obeyed, they trusted, they loved, and they were rewarded eternally for their sacrifice. Are your eyes fixated on eternity, and are you seeking to bring other souls with you into the Lord's Kingdom?
We need to be willing to follow Jesus, and spread the gospel to all people everywhere, no matter what we have to leave behind or what struggles await us.
We all need to be fishers of men. We must take up the call to go out into the world, share God's Word, and bring people to the salvation that only faith in Jesus Christ can provide.
** TIMEOUT **
Time for a Pop Quiz :
Do you fellowship with other Christians?
1 John 1:3
"that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ."
Are you sensitive to your sin?
1 John 1:8
"If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us."
Does something in you hate the world, and the world system?
1 John 2:15
"Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him."
Are you obedient to God's Word?
1 John 2:3
"And by this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments."
Do you love Jesus and await His return?
1 John 3:2
"Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when He appears we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is."
Do you see a decreasing pattern of sin in your life?
1 John 3:5-6
"You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him."
Do you sacrificially love others?
1 John 3:14-17
"We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world's goods and see his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him?"
Do you experience answered prayer in your life?
1 John 3:21-22
"Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do what pleases Him."
Do you experience the innder working of the Holy Spirit in your life?
1 John 4:13
"By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit."
Do you discern between spiritual truth and error?
1 John 4:1-6
"Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error."
Do you believe what the scriptures teach?
1 John 5:1-3
"Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome."
The Gospel, put simply, is salvation for sinners :
Do you share this good news of the Gospel with the people in your life?
Are you truly willing to show people the truth and love that you now know and have in Jesus Christ?
Has your life been transformed?
Are you different from the world?
Have you ever been attacked for your faith?
Has your faith ever cost you anything?
Simon, who became Peter, was called by Christ to be a fisher of men..
He failed many times in his faith walk, he denied Jesus, and doubted Him.
But, he continued on in his faith, and became one of the greatest disciple-makers ever.
Luke 5:4-11 reads..
"When Jesus had finished speaking, he said to Simon, 'put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.'
Simon answered, 'Master, we've worked hard all night and havn't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.'
When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.
When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, 'Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!'
For he and his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon's partners.
Then Jesus said to Simon, 'don't be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.'
So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed Him."
Are you willing to leave everything behind you, and follow God?
Are you willing to be a fisher of people?
If not, let what is still holding you back be examined or questioned, and let all those who stand in your way of God + His right ways be removed from your walk.
Go forth now, continue on in your faith, and become a fisher of men.
