Let’s Go Fishing
*Only complete surrender will lead to true satisfaction!
*God is into breaking down walls! He wants ALL OF YOU!!!
****Fishing—- Fishing for Souls?
And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” (Matthew 4:19)
Jesus asked His disciples to follow Him and fish for eternal souls at perhaps the loveliest spot on earth, a lake in a land called Galore. The spot is a blue-green lake called the Sea of Galilee.
**Come…meant that the disciples had to leave what they were doing. If you want to make a difference for God you have to let go of your own agenda and priorities.
**Follow me…meant that they had to allow Jesus to set the agenda, allow Jesus to lead them. To be his follower they needed to accept Jesus as their leader.
**I will make you…meant that Jesus was the coach, he would teach them the way to share the Good News. Apparently there is a right way and a wrong way to do it.
**Fishers of men…Jesus was using an image that would connect with these professional fishermen, but the point is their objective would be to attract and capture the hearts and minds of many people for the Good News.
Jesus told them to follow Him, but he didn’t leave it at that.
Jesus spoke these words as He walked around that beautiful lake and demonstrated what fishing for eternal souls of mankind was all about.
Against the background of these cities lining the Sea Jesus performed 60% of all His earthly ministry.
*He raised the dead,
*He gave sight to the blind,
*He gave health to the sick,
* He replaced the decay of the lepers,
*Jesus unshackled the demonized.
**All this as Jesus fished for the eternal souls of mankind.
We are to learn from Jesus, and ask Him to show us how to do discipleship, evangelize, etc. — Not just rely on our own techniques, thoughts, creative ideas, etc.
**To a handful of these men came JESUS who asked them to use their skills in becoming fishermen of the eternal souls of mankind.
*Jesus still is extending the same call to us as His followers.
**** It is a call to believe!!!
*Do you believe? It is a call to repent. *Do you need to repent? It is a call to follow him. Have you made this commitment?
*Be alert to situations and issues that will serve as a platform from which to deal with old mind sets that will not serve you well in your current journey to higher spiritual ground. (Renew the Mind: Romans 12:1-3)
* Make a review of the things that the Lord will punctuate in your current environment, but do so Without allowing Rejection or Condemnation to cloud your vision.
*The enemy will do whatever he can to keep you from looking at things objectively and with clarity.
**But if you will see this time as being necessary for instruction leading to greater understanding instead of a personal attack against who you are, it will serve as a springboard to the next phase of your journey.
Otherwise, it could just become a trap.
Mark 8:25 Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.
*Begin to apply by faith God’s word to every circumstance.
*Learn to apply by faith the words that God gives you so that they will become a light unto your path.
* Let your faith now arise and come higher.
*Begin to exercise that spiritual muscle that the Lord has given to you.
* Learn to walk by faith and believe with a faith that is greater than you have ever exercised before.
*Your faith will come by hearing and by hearing the word of the Lord and your faith will work through the love of Jesus Christ.
*Allow faith to become the substance of the things that you hope for.
Let this become the evidence of that which you cannot perceive or see. *Allow it to become a witness to you that the Lord indeed is with you and I and Jesus will bring US through to victory as we walk with th Lord in this season of Glory.
* Refuse to evaluate the details of your circumstances according to how you feel.
This is not a time of mourning, but a time of rejoicing at being established solidly on spiritual ground so that you will be able to progress rapidly from here.
Luke 21:28 “Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.”
If we are to be effective in anything we do for the Lord, the Lord must be in the midst of it.
*** Unless the Lord’s power is seen among us, we will be just another person who has religion.
**** Unless we manifest His life to others, they will see only good behavior that is easily counterfeited by moral people.
*Moving out in presumption will end in failure and frustration.
* Ask the Lord today to assure you of His presence and power in your activities.
Then you will be assured that you will be distinguished among all the other people on the face of the earth.
True discipleship cannot be the intermingling or sprinkling of Christ or Christ-like attributes into and throughout our lives.
CHRIST must have control to lead and guide for His Kingdom’s sake.
In order to properly follow Jesus we need to reach out to those in need. Jesus Himself says that those who hear the Word and do it are the ones that are blessed. James says, “Be doers of the Word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.”
So what do we need to do to make sure that our lives are in the “following” mode?
I think we need to get out and exercise our faith a little more.
*We need to take advantage of the opportunities that the Lord lays before us to speak and act as ambassadors of the Good News.
*We need to make sure we take the time to let our light shine to the world around us.
*Show a little compassion.
* Bless someone’s day.
* Meet someone’s need just because.
There is certainly a lot more that can be said about this very important phrase from Jesus, but let this be enough for now.
Today, let’s reach beyond our doctrinal assent and try to mirror some of His caring acts. “Let’s Take Some ACTION!”
I pray that I would be bold and be able to follow Jesus with all of my being, and not be luke-warm about my commitment to Jesus each and Every Day! Lord keep me to stay on Your path and help me Always to give You ALL the Glory. Amen