Fishermen Ought To Fish

FISHERMEN OUGHT TO FISH

Matthew 28:19-20

S: Discipleship

Th: Our responsibility to make disciples

Pr: It is our purpose to make disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.

?: Transition 1--How?

Transition 2--Where?

KW: TS1--Ways

TS2--Applications

TS1: Since, according to Matthew 28:19-20, it is our purpose to make disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, we will see the three ways God directs us to accomplish it.

TS2: We will study four applications where we can apply the purpose of making disciples in our lives.

T1: The ______ Way that God directs us to make disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ is by...

I. GOING

II. BAPTIZING

III. TEACHING

T2: The _____ Application where we can relate our purpose of making disciples is...

I. OUR WORLD

II. OUR FAMILY

III. OUR CHURCH

IV. ONE ON ONE

GBC of S 10/27/96 AM (2x)

(as “Our Purpose: Fishermen Ought to Fish”)

RMBC 1/11/98 AM

FBC of LF 18 July 04 AM (2x)

INTRODUCTION:

Personal – Thanks for growing us up in the ministry.

I do receive criticism from time to time, and I always say, if you think I’m bad now, you should have seen what I was like in Little Falls!

Other reminiscing…

1. Did you ever see one of those children puzzles that have things out of place?

What is wrong with this picture?

You see them in puzzle books, or on the comic page, or in children’s magazines.

The object is to find out the things that aren’t right in the picture.

Like a table with only three legs...

Or a car missing a tire...

Or a bird in fish bowl...

Or a baseball player using a golf club to hit a football...

You get the idea, right?

2. Sometimes, we take a look at the church and say the same thing.

What’s wrong with this picture?

ILL Notebook: Church (a lot of good it does you)

Coming out of church, Mrs. Peterson asked her husband, "Do you think that Johnson girl is tinting her hair?"

"I didn’t even see her," admitted Mr. Peterson.

"And that dress Mrs. Hansen was wearing," continued Mrs. Peterson, "Really, don’t tell me you think that’s the proper dress for a mother of two."

"I’m afraid I didn’t notice that either," said Mr. Peterson.

"Oh, for heaven’s sake," snapped Mrs. Peterson. "A lot of good it does you to go to church."

It is amazing to me how often the church gets distracted from its purpose.

We see a church bickering, angry and critical, and we say what’s wrong with this picture?

We see a church more concerned about its social life, keeping its members feeling good about themselves, and we say what’s wrong with this picture?

So the question we must ask is – what are Christians supposed to be doing?

TRANSITION 1:

When Jesus began his ministry…

1. Jesus gave an example of our purpose (Matthew 4:19).

When we look at Matthew 4:19, we see a challenge to his new disciples:

"Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."

Jesus wants his disciples to be fishermen.

That helps us come to this outstanding conclusion (which is the title of our message): FISHERMEN OUGHT TO FISH.

2. It is our purpose to make disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:19-20).

"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you."

The imperative of Matthew 28:19-20 is make disciples.

In these verses, though there is the appearance of four different verbs in this statement, only one is in command form.

It is the verb to make disciples.

Our instruction is to make disciples.

To make disciples for the Christian is to disciple a person to Christ, to make a person a pupil of Jesus.

3. When we consider the purpose of who we are as First Baptist Church of Little Falls, these verses have to serve as a biblical backdrop to instruct us.

So if one asks what is First Baptist Church is all about, we should say that we are about making disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.

I want us to consider for a moment about what it means to make disciples.

For it is important for us to note today that making disciples does not start nor does it end with a person receiving the truth of the gospel.

We must think bigger than that.

We must look at the whole picture.

For making disciples begins before one has an understanding of Jesus.

It is a process that begins with an awareness of God, and continues with an awareness of the sinfulness of man, and an awareness of the need of a Savior for sin.