Common Men with an Uncommon Opportunity…
Matt. 4:18 ¶ 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.
(Prayer)
January 6, 1850, was bitterly cold in Colchester, England, a hard-biting blizzard keeping most worshipers at home. At the Primitive Methodist Chapel on Artillery Street only about a dozen showed up. When it became apparent that even the pastor would not arrive, an unlettered man rose and spoke haltingly from Isaiah 45:22, Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. Then the crowd dispersed, thinking the day’s service a loss—not realizing that a fifteen-year-old boy had ducked into the room to escape the snowstorm, and, hearing the sermon, had been converted.
Years later that boy, Charles Spurgeon, wrote: “Don’t hold back because you cannot preach in St. Paul’s; be content to talk to one or two in a cottage. You may cook in small pots as well as in big ones. Little pigeons can carry great messages. Even a little dog can bark at a thief, wake up the master, and save the house.… Do what you do right thoroughly, pray over it heartily, and leave the result to God.” (Nelson’s Complete Book of Stories, Illustrations and Quotes)
Do you think that Peter and Andrew had any clue, any idea what they were in for?
Do you think in their wildest imagination they could have predicted while standing there on that boat that day what lay ahead for each of them?
This day started out like any other…
They got up early that morning… They got their equipment all ready…They packed themselves a lunch…And, off they went to the docks to get on their fishing boat.
They pushed off from the dock, and not far from shore they began throwing out their nets. There probably was a little bit of excitement every time they pulled in their nets wondering what they had caught. But, really…after doing it for so long, …nothing really surprised them anymore.
They were fishermen. That’s what they did. It was their job. It was how they made a living.
Even more being fishermen, was who they were. This family business was passed on to them by their father, who had probably had it passed on to him by his father…
This is how they provided for their family. It’s how they put food on the table.
All day long they would be out there on the water…
Some days were probably a very good day of fishing, and others were not so good. Most were just an average day.
Everyday, it was the same thing. It was very ordinary. Peter and Andrew were common men with common professions.
They were just fishermen.
Uncommon Opportunity
19 And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
Christ walks by the Sea of Galilee…He sees the two brothers in their boat fishing...throwing their nets out.
He stops, and yells out to them as He declares… “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
I’m sure Peter and Andrew were curious about what He had said.
This was not their fist meeting with Jesus. The Bible records…
John 1:35
Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples;
John 1:36
And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!
John 1:37
And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.
John 1:38
Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou?
John 1:39
He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour.
John 1:40
One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.
John 1:41
He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.
John 1:42
And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.
This was the first meeting they had with Christ. They spent time with Him…
And, now back in our text these ordinary men, Peter and Andrew, are given an invitation, an opportunity to join Christ in His purpose.
And, what is Christ’s purpose?
Lu 19:10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.
These common men, were now given an uncommon opportunity.
Did Peter and Andrew have a clue as to what Christ was calling them to that day?
By Andrew’s own words he acknowledges that Christ was the Messiah…But, no way did either one of them realize where all this was going to lead.
They didn’t know what awaited them.
They were not educated men.
They were not skilled for what God was calling them to do.
They were fishermen.
Extraordinary Results
20 And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.
Upon this second visit with the Lord…He calls them. “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
These common, ordinary men…given now an uncommon opportunity…leave their nets…and follow Christ.
Christ promised them that if they would follow Him…He would make them fishers of men.
Did that happen?
Did Christ back up what He said?
Did Christ back up what He promised?
Peter…
Wasn’t it Peter…this common fishermen…that stood up the day of Pentecost, addressed the people and preached Christ unto them…
Acts 2:36
Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.
Acts 2:37
Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
Acts 2:38
Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Acts 2:39
For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
…
Acts 2:41
Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.
Three thousand were cast into the net of salvation of the Lord that day!
Another time when Peter being accompanied by John preached in the temple the Bible records for us that…
Acts 4: 4 Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand.
Does it sound like Peter became a fisher of men?
What a fisher of men he was!
And, later in the same chapter the Bible tells us what was thought of Peter…
Acts 4:13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.
Being “unlearned and ignorant” would not normally be a compliment that someone would want to have identified with them.
But when someone is used by God…our lack allows His greatness.
Andrew…
What about Andrew?
Andrew is quite the opposite of Peter in personality and in the manner of their lives.
They were brothers, but they were completely different.
They had different styles, different approaches…they had different results…
On one hand you have Peter with his boldness, and his taking charge…Peter preached to thousands and had thousands come to accept Jesus Christ as their Saviour.
Yet, Andrew is much different.
Peter had a lot written about him in the Bible. But, there is not that many verses that talk about Andrew. We do not know as much about him as we do of his brother. However, what we do know speaks of a very remarkable person.
Andrew was one of the first of the two disciples to accept Jesus and follow Him. (John 1:37-40)
And, wasn’t it Andrew that was the first to bring someone to Jesus. (John 1:41-42)
After all…it was Andrew that brought Peter to Jesus.
Sounds like he was a fisher of men as well.
These common, ordinary men…who were given an uncommon opportunity…took that opportunity by following Christ and became uncommon men with extraordinary results!
The late Sam Shoemaker, an Episcopalian bishop, summed up the situation this way: "In the Great Commission the Lord has called us to be--like Peter--fishers of men. We’ve turned the commission around so that we have become merely keepers of the aquarium. Occasionally I take some fish out of your fishbowl and put them into mine, and you do the same with my bowl. But we’re all tending the same fish." -Em Griffin, The Mindchangers, Tyndale House, 1976, p. 151.
It is easy to determine when something is aflame. It ignites other material. Any fire that does not spread will eventually go out. A church without evangelism is a contradiction in terms, just as a fire that does not burn is a contradiction. -Christian Theology in Plain Language, p. 162.
Fish don’t catch themselves…
-We have a responsibility of sharing with others salvation.
-God’s looking for common, ordinary people to do an uncommon thing. He’s looking for you!
-God wants to do extraordinary things through you.
(He can make you fishers of men, just like Peter and Andrew if you are willing to follow Him, and allow Him too.)
It is said that, “disciples are made, and not born”.
