Followers Make Good Fishermen Series

Lesson 05 of the Follow Me Series

Followers Make Good Fishermen

Compiled by Grady Henley

Text: Mat 4:19-25

Key Verses:

1 Tim 3:14 These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly:

1 Tim 3:15 But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

INTRODUCTION:

Have you ever considered why God compared soul winning to fishing? Think about it for a while before you come to a firm conclusion, for there is not one simple answer to this question. The answer might just lie in the ministry of the Lord and the men He called. The first men that He called into the soul winning business were fishermen.

A sign on a barber shop wall read: “The Lord created the world with 6 times more water than land. Therefore, anybody can see that the Good Lord intended man to fish more than he works.”

Mat 4:19 And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.

I. THEIR TRADE.

Fishermen come in all shapes, sizes, and types. There are:

1. Sportsmen—These are the catch and release fishermen.

2. The weekend fishermen.

3. There are professional guides engaged in this business.

4. There are some that fish for a living. Such were Peter, James, John, and Andrew. Their trade as fishermen caused them to interface in some of these areas:

· To the sea to make the catch.

· Back to shore to clean the haul.

· To the marketplace to sell their trades for profit.

· It took them to particular places where they could mend their tools (nets and boats) used in their trade.

· In all these areas they interfaced with shoppers, suppliers, and other fishermen.

· Once the catch was sold and repairs made, the circuit began again.

This lessons deals with the attributes common to soul winners and what it takes to become a dedicated soul winner for the Lord. What the Lord told these men that day remains good advice today: “Follow me, and I will make ye fishers of men.

A. Professionals.

One of the first things we note about these brothers is they did not need anyone telling them how to catch fish. They could write books on the subject. Regardless of their level of expertise, the Lord is about to show them some things.

B. Change Professions.

What they were not aware of is the Lord is about to modify their professions. If they will allow Him the freedom, He will take their skills and trades and incorporate their several abilities into His grand plan for the local church body and individual believers. Simply stated this means they are about to cease being leaders in the world of fishing for fish and will soon be followers in the profession of fishing for men. The souls they win will follow them and the circuit begins again.

Once they left their nets and followed, they entered His discipleship program. This is a big step for some of these men. Peter is probably the oldest of the apostles, and for him to change professions at this stage of his life would be akin to what we call a mid-life crisis. In order to change each of these men must have some discipline.

Discipline is one of the characteristics that goes into making a good fisherman. As they tutored under the Master, they will learn how to apply discipline to win souls, for it takes much more discipline and patience to catch men than it does fish.

Without discipline, it is impossible to be successful fisherman. Even so, it is impossible to be a full time disciple without discipline. Mat 16:24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me..

Once they learned the “tricks of this new trade,” each of them will again be a leader in teaching others the skills necessary to succeed in being a fisher of men. This is all part of the maturing process of growing into that man or woman in the works of the Lord.

As these brothers learned, they applied. Soon they will be what James told us to be James 1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. The closer they followed the Master, and the more they study and apply His techniques, assures them they will soon graduate from His discipleship program.

C. It Is the Lord’s Work.

The third thing we learn from verse 19 is, it is Jesus that is going to do the majority of the work. He said I will make you. “I will make you” does not mean He is going to make them catch men whether they want to or not. What it means is He will make them into something that they presently are not. For the change to be effective, they must be obedient. They cannot be obedient without discipline.