Let's Go Fishing

Let’s Go Fishing

18 And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. 19 And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. 20 And they straightway left their nets, and followed him. 21 And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them. 22 And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him. – Matthew 4:18-22

I. Jesus “Will make” us fishers of men

a. God can make us what He wants us to be

i. Moses – Exodus 4:10-12

10 And Moses said unto the LORD, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue. 11 And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man’s mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD? 12 Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say. – Exodus 4:10-12

ii. We are the clay – Isaiah 64:8

But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand. – Isaiah 64:8

b. God will empower us

i. Acts 1:8 – We will receive power from the Holy Spirit

But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. – Acts 1:8

ii.

II. Jesus’ Disciples followed with no question

a. It is believed that Simon and Andrew already knew who Jesus was and probably witnessed some of His miracles

i. They had time to talk about Jesus and His ministry

ii. Somewhere along the way, they decided they wanted to follow Jesus

b. The gave up their lifestyle and their families to follow Jesus

i. They walked about from their source of income, their hopes and dream

ii. They walked away from their family

III. Are you ready to be a fisher of men

a. Are you ready to drop everything and follow Him

i. You’ve had time to talk about Jesus

ii. When will you make the decision

b. Notice Jesus didn’t ask His disciples to change?

i. When we serve God, He will change us on the way

ii. Our ministry will determine our character

c. How to be a fisher of men

i. Witness

ii. Lead someone in discipleship

Old Pete had a knack for catching fish. Every weekend Old Pete went fishing and returned with dozens of fish. Nobody knew how he did it. When other fisherman were unable to land more than three or four, Old Pete always came back with stringer after stringer of freshly caught fish.

Curious, the fish and game warden decided to investigate. He followed Old Pete out to the lake, and when he launched his boat at the dock, the warden asked if he could ride along and observe.

“Sure,” said Old Pete. “Hop in.”

Old Pete started up his outboard motor. When they arrived at an obscure reach of the lake, Pete stopped the boat. The warden sat back and watched.

Reaching into a box, Pete pulled out a stick of dynamite, lit it, and tossed it into the water. After the explosion dead fish soon started rising to the surface. Old Pete took out a net and started scooping them up.

“Wait a minute!” said the warden. “What do you think you’re doing? You can’t do that! I’ll put you in jail, buddy! You’ll be paying every fine in the book! You’ll never fish again!”

Old Pete calmly put down his net, picked up a second stick of dynamite, lit it, and tossed it in the warden’s lap.

“So are you gonna sit there criticizing me all day,” he asked the panicked warden, “or are you gonna fish?”