Matthew 4:19-20 “19 And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.” In week one we discussed having healthy relationship boundaries. And how we may need to love from a distance, the people in our life who are causing relational storms, like Jonah did for the captain of the boat he was on while running from God. We can’t allow others to determine the weather report for our life. Last week we asked the question: “How many fish do you need?” And discussed how we are supposed to bring everything to the King for His use and watch Him multiply it for the benefit of others. Remember that Peter was in the fishing business and he allowed Jesus to use his boat, and afterward he received a huge catch of fish as a return on his investment into the ministry of Jesus. This week we are going to begin by looking at Peter’s reaction to the miracle of his huge catch of fish. Peter had the same reaction that we would have had after seeing a miracle. We read about it in Luke chapter 5. Luke 5:8-11 “But when Simon Peter saw that, he fell down at Jesus’ feet, saying, “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!” 9 For amazement had seized him and all his companions because of the catch of fish which they had taken; 10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not fear, from now on you will be catching men.” 11 When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him.”
Peter was amazed after seeing the miracle of fish and also afraid of the power he witnessed in Jesus. It made him recognize his own sinfulness. Afterward Peter makes a confession that Jesus is Lord and that he himself was a sinful man, then Jesus says “follow Me”. Peter just showed us the example of how we are saved. After seeing Who Jesus really was, he recognized his own sin, he believed and then confessed that Jesus is Lord. Look at what happened next. Jesus immediately told them to follow Him and their training began. These were men who already knew about church and all the rules imposed by the priests and the religious crowd...but they were about to start learning about the love of God through Jesus. Matthew 4:19-20 “19 And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.” After you receive your miracle of salvation, Jesus calls you to follow Him and learn to be a witness to others. Are you ready to go fishing? You have to be prepared if you’re going to go fishing for people. So, lets start the fishing 101 training course. The first, thing you’ll need is something that people are attracted to. Fortunately for us as Christians...we have just the thing. The Bible calls it the gospel of the kingdom. The word Gospel just means “Good News”. And who doesn’t like good news? Let’s walk through a simple presentation of the gospel message as it is given to us in the Bible. This is called the Roman’s Road, because it uses verses from the book of Romans.
The Roman’s Road to Salvation: Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God...” None of us can measure up to God’s standard. We have all sinned and it is our sin that separates us from God. We have a sin problem that we can’t fix by ourselves. Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” God loved us before we loved Him. While we were actively working against Him and in rebellion to His perfect will, He chose to provide His own Son Jesus as the sacrifice to atone for our sin. Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” We have worked to earn the wages of sin...eternal death, which is separation from God. But we cannot work for salvation. It’s God’s free gift to us. It is the offer of eternal life. All we do is accept His gift and then we will live forever with Him. That’s really the truth we have to understand. We are going to exist forever, but the question is are you going to live eternally with God in heaven, or die eternally separated from Him in hell. Romans 8:1 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Those who accept God’s gift of Jesus’ sacrifice for sin, are no longer condemned for their past sins. All that matters is their future. And that has been secured by their position “in Christ”.
Romans 10:9 “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Like I mentioned earlier when we were talking about what Peter did, all you have to do is say openly that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead. The resurrection of Jesus is the pivotal point in Christianity. Jesus was given the power over death and it couldn’t hold Him. And if you accept Him, it can’t hold you either. Romans 10:10 “For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” It is a two part process. There is a change of heart and that causes a physical reaction to actually speak that Jesus is Lord. The word Lord just means owner and we are saying that when we accept His gift we are surrendering to His lordship, or ownership. Romans 10:13 “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” God’s gift of salvation through Jesus is open to everyone. There is no one who is excluded from salvation if they call on the name of Jesus. It doesn’t matter how you were raised, wether you were baptist, presbyterian, catholic, jewish or never been to a church in your life. God offers His salvation to everyone. There are several other gospel presentations that can help you start conversations or ask questions that lead people to understand their need for salvation. But these verses that we have just covered are necessary for understanding the steps that are needed for someone to understand and accept the gift of salvation.
Ok, now we know that Jesus has called us to be fishers of men, and we know how to fish. So what happens after you go fishing, share the good news and someone accepts Jesus as their Lord? It depends on what kind of fisherman you are. Are you a catch and release fisherman or are you a keeper? Fish are messy when you catch them, and so are people. The question is will we throw them back after we post the number of salvations on our social media? People, like fish can be difficult to deal with once they have been reeled in. But it’s not our job to clean them up, that’s the work of the Holy Spirit in their life. If we really love people we keep them and do whatever is necessary to help them continue the process of growing in Christ. Remember the great commission that Jesus gave us just before He ascended to heaven? He said to make disciples, baptism them...and to teach them all He commanded. We have to teach people all that Jesus commanded, so they can become fishermen also. Are you a patient fisherman? Fishing takes patience. You don’t catch something every time you throw out a line, but you are supposed to keep throwing it out anyway. Do you give up after inviting someone to church just once? I talked to someone recently who said a friend invited him to church for several years and he kept saying he would come... but never did. Then someone else invited him to the same church and he finally went. His life was changed.
Maybe you are warming up a fish for someone else to catch. Or maybe God has provided you with the boat that He wants you to use for catching His fish. Or perhaps, you are part of the boat’s crew. The bible uses a seed analogy instead of a fish when it explains this concept. We find it in 1st Corinthians. 1 Corinthians 3:6-9 “I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. 7 So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. 8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. 9 For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.” One of the reasons we don’t catch many fish is because our bait isn’t attractive. It’s difficult to tell people the good news of a loving God when we are walking around bitter, jealous or angry... with our brothers and sisters in our church family We are supposed to have the fruit of the Spirit on display. People will be drawn to you if you are exhibiting love, Joy and peace. Our love for each other is how people will know that we are following Jesus. This issue is addressed in book of Ephesians. Ephesians 4:31-32 “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.”
Putting away those things is easier said than done. But why is that? It’s because our mind isn’t completely renewed and our flesh still tries to take over. Romans 12:2 “And be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind...” The battle we fight when it comes to letting go of the sinful desires of our flesh, is waged in the mind. When you accept the free gift of God’s salvation, it’s your spirit that is saved eternally. But your flesh can’t be saved, and it won’t stop trying to convince you to make bad choices. So we defeat it by starving it of its influence over our mind. As we seek God through His word, our spirit is strengthened and our flesh is weakened. Our mind becomes renewed by the Word of God. Every time we choose to listen to the Holy Spirit telling our mind to do what the WORD says we should do, we reinforce the right habits for our life. And the voice of our flesh gets a little quieter. That is why it is so important for you to know what the Word of God says. If you are battling anger, you need to know what the word says about anger. If you are battling bitterness, you need to know what the word says about bitterness. If you are battling anxiety, you need to know what the word says about anxiety. As we grow in Christ, we are able to exhibit the fruit of the Spirit and that is attractive to other people who are lost and looking for the gift of salvation we have received. If you have accepted His gift, let me ask you some questions.
Are you ready to go fishing? If not, why do you think that is? Do you believe that you have something the fish need? Take a minute and think about this: Who is in your life that needs to know about the salvation Jesus offers? Is your life exhibiting the spiritual fruit that attracts those who need Jesus? If you haven’t received God’s gift of salvation yet, I’ve got a couple of questions for you: Has God shown you today who Jesus really is? Are you ready to confess that He is Lord? Is Jesus calling you to follow Him?
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