A Fisher of Men or a Keeper of the Aquarium

“Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men." And immediately they left their nets and followed him.” (Mark 1:16-18)

The disciples had little education, little spiritual depth, and little religious training. If you study their lives, you will find that many times they were self-centered and inhospitable. When the multitude walked a long way around the Sea of Galilee to be with Jesus and were hungry, the disciples thought only of sending them away on their own to buy food (Matt. 14). When some little children were brought to Jesus for blessing, the disciples rebuked those who brought them (Matt. 19:13).

Even on the night of Jesus' betrayal, as their Lord agonized in the Garden of Gethsemane, Peter, James, and John could not stay awake with him (Matt. 26: 40, 45). The disciples at times were selfish, proud, weak, and cowardly. They showed little potential for dependability, must less for greatness. Yet Jesus chose them to be his inner circle of twelve.

They were just like us, and they were like other people we know. They are real and living characters we can identify with and understand. They were prone to mistakes, misstatements, wrong attitudes, lapses of faith, and bitter failure. Even Jesus said that they were slow learners and spiritually dense (Luke 24: 25).

Yet, with all their faults and character flaws, these men carried on a ministry after Jesus’ ascension that left an indelible impact on the world. Common folk – people like you and me – became the instruments by which Christ’s message was carried to the ends of the earth.

When they understood their calling, they displayed character qualities like integrity, trustworthiness, respectability, unselfishness, humility, self-discipline, self-control, and courage. That’s the character God is looking for in His “fishers of men.”

Jesus simply said, “Follow Me.” He wasn’t stating it as a suggestion or one among many options. His statement was an imperative command. It literally means, “Come after me.” Jesus was saying, “Your place is coming after me.” That’s exactly what he says to us today.

In his book People Sharing Jesus, Darrell Robinson outlines the mandate behind “Follow Me”:

Obedience – Without it, can there be genuine Christianity.

Repentance – The preceding message in Mt and Mark.

Submission – Placed under the authority of another.

Trust – Do you really believe “He’s All I Need?”

Perseverance – It’s not just a door to enter; it’s a path to follow, and that to the end. David wrote about it in Psalm 119: 112, “My heart is set on keeping your decrees to the very end.”

That’s it. A fisher of men is one who follows Christ to the end of everything. A man was walking on the beach early one morning. He noticed someone walking ahead of him. It appeared that the person ahead was picking up objects off the beach and throwing them back into the ocean. Curiosity got the best of him, so he quickened his pace to catch up with the person ahead of him. He discovered it was a teenage boy. The boy was picking up starfish left by the high tide throwing them back into the ocean.

“What are you doing?” the man asked. “I’m throwing these starfish back into the water. If they stay here on the beach until the sun shines on them for a while, they’ll die.” “Young man, this beach goes on for miles. There could be millions of starfish lying out on it. What difference do you think you can make?”

They boy looked carefully at the starfish he was holding in his hand. Then he threw it back into the water and said, “Well, all I know is that it makes a difference to this one!” That’s what fishing for men is all about – winning the world for Jesus Christ – one heart at a time.

We have a tendency to look at all the lost in the world and feel helpless about making a difference with so many. But we change our world one person at a time. I want to offer you a challenge today. On behalf of someone that you know, would you consecrate your life that he or she might be saved? Are you willing to commit your life to the Lord Jesus Christ and commit that person to prayer and commit yourself to sharing the gospel with them that they may come to know the Lord?

Until Next Week,

Dr. Derek

PRAYER

This Thursday we will have between 800 – 1000 people attend out Fall Festival. It will be awesome. One of this year’s attractions is a big slide that is totally awesome! I can’t wait to get on it and … let me restate … the kids can’t wait! However, if you want to see me on it, come a little early!

We will have hundreds of unchurched on our north campus (FBC) and that affords us an opportunity to show a little love to our community. In preparation for the event we will be prayer walking our parking lot this Wednesday night, starting at 6:00, and then praying over our grounds. I am praying that our property will have Holy Spirit anointing all over it, and every person who steps foot on the anointed soil will sense the presence of God! So, we needs folks who will come and pray Wednesday night, and we need folks who will be ready to share Christ on Thursday night between 5:00 and 8:00 PM.