Making Fishers Of Men 1

THEME- POPULATING GOD’S KINGDOM

TOPIC- MAKING FISHERS OF MEN 1

TEXT- MATTHEW 4:18-19, MARK 1:16-17

INTRODUCTION

The heartbeat of God is evangelizing the whole world for the purpose of soul winning according to Matthew 28:19-20 which is popularly known as the great commission but following the footsteps of Jesus Christ on this subject, we discovered that Jesus first of all made the fishers of men who will go out to fish/win others. Today, we shall consider the steps in making of the fishers of men who are supposed to be us:

To be kept in God’s name- John 17:3, John 17:12, John 5:11-13

Jesus Christ did the first thing; which is to make them carry the name of God- meaning to be born of God, the family of God: surnamed of God and has eternal life. We must belong to God; be of the tribe of God and recognized as His people- Romans 8:14-15. With the seal of ownership- Ephesians 1:13 and the Holy Spirit bearing witness with our spirit about our salvation- Romans 8:16, John 20:22-23.

To be kept by God’s word- John 17:14

The person who wants to win souls must be kept, nourished, equipped and filled with the word of God- Psalm 119:47-50, 2 Tim 2:15. To be a good soul winner you must know the main message or good news in God’s word; it is all about Jesus Christ- John 14:6. When you have this word, the world will be in enmity with you- John 17:14. The word will keep you from evil and the evil one- John 17:15. The word will sanctify you (purify, consecrate and separate you)- John 17:17

The need for the Holy Spirit – Acts 1:8, John 16:7-13

Nobody can be born of God or born again without the Holy Spirit so even to live according to the ways of Jesus Christ; it can only be achieved by the help of the Holy Spirit. In other words, no soul winning without the Holy Spirit involved. To be a good soul winner, you need a continuous revelation of Jesus Christ (His word, life and authority) and this can only be done through the Holy Spirit- John 16:15. A soul winner needs to pray well- Romans 8:26.

Rejoice Always – John 16:1-4, 20,23, Matthew 5:10-12

Jesus Christ encouraged us before time to always rejoice because he knew that the world will hate us (they will work against us in every way) but we must keep our hearts ready and prepared for our master’s use. A ready and prepared heart must be:

i) Joyful – Isaiah 61:10, Hebrews 10:34, Col 1:11

ii) Hopeful and merciful – Col 1:5, Galatians 5:5, Matthew 5:7

iii) Free from sin - Romans 6:18-22, 2 Cor 6:1-3

iv) Full of faith - Gal 3:11, Hebrews 11:1-2,6

v) Free from worries – Matthew 6:31-32, 2 Cor 6:8-10

vi) Focus on Jesus Christ – Hebrews 12:2

A merry heart that is ready and prepared is the heart of soul winner.

Conclusion- we must bear in mind always that Jesus Christ prayed and still prays for us to succeed in soul winning- John 17:9,15 and 20.