“I thought you wanted to go FISHING” (you haven’t even baited your hook.)
Mark 1:16-20 NKJ.
16. And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.
17. Then Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”
18. They immediately left their nets and followed Him.
19. When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets.
20. And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him.
Can you remember the very first time, you felt the tugging of the Holy Spirit and need to ask Jesus in your heart.
Like the ones Jesus called that day, you and I were also called out of our obscurity to become part of His team.
To become fishers of men, to tell others about the good news and frankly just share, what Jesus has done for us in our own lives.
We willingly chose to become players on Gods team, we were full of great aspirations, ideas and great hopes
We all felt the urgency to bring others into the family of God, before Jesus one day would triumphantly return for us all.
but through the years some of us have become disenchanted along the way, we have chosen to become bench warmers if you will,
Instead of remaining actively involved in carrying out, the final command of Jesus
Matt 28:18-20 NKJ.
18. And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
19. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20. teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
But you say, “Hey come on now” I go to church most of the time and I give when the offering plate comes by.
And that’s all good and well, but let me ask you a question.
When was the last time you told somebody about Jesus,
when was the last time you invited some one to church that you hadn’t already asked a 100 times before?
When was the last time you realized, that when you walk out your front door, you are entering into, your all the world?
Well preacher, I believe everything that your telling me this morning,
you should, everything we’ve read this morning was spoken by Jesus Himself, there’s no way anyone could make up stuff this good.
But really come on, what difference can I make in the world, I’m only one person?
Let me tell you something, when you really believe in something, you are willing to put your all into it, your total effort!
You become totally committed to the cause and you know that results will happen if you persevere,
otherwise you have to ask yourself, do I really believe in it?
Do you think Billy Graham ever thought what difference can I make, or Smith Wigglesworth, or D.L. Moody thought that,
But they were and are famous, Oh, not when they started out they weren’t.
They were men that believed and knew as long as God was in their camp, they could change the world, not just their world, but the whole world for the better!
Thomas Edison as a young man, believed someday, somebody would invent the light bulb.
Had he become disenchanted with the idea along the way, no one today would even know his name.
Chuck Swindoll wrote this in his book “Hand me another Brick”
Thomas Edison invented the microphone, the phonograph, the incandescent light bulb, the storage battery, talking movies, and more than 1000 other things.
December 1914 he had worked for 10 years on a storage battery. This had greatly strained his finances.
This particular evening spontaneous combustion had broken out in the film room.
Within minutes all the packing compounds, celluloid for records and film, and other flammable goods were in flames.
Fire companies from eight surrounding towns arrived, but the heat was so intense any attempt to douse the flames was futile.
Everything was destroyed. Edison was 67. With all his assets going up in flames
(although the damage exceeded two million dollars, the buildings were only insured for $238,000
because they were made of concrete and thought to be fireproof), would his spirit be broken?
The inventor’s 24-year old son, Charles, searched frantically for his father. He finally found him, calmly watching the fire, his face glowing in the reflection, his white hair blowing in the wind.
"My heart ached for him," said Charles. "He was 67,no longer a young man and everything was going up in flames.
When he saw me, he shouted, ’Charles, where’s your mother?’ When I told him I didn’t know, he said,
’Find her. Bring her here. She will never see anything like this as long as she lives.’"
The next morning, Edison looked at the ruins and said, "There is great value in disaster.
All our mistakes are burned up. Thank God we can start anew."
Three weeks after the fire, Edison managed to deliver the first phonograph.
Edison was often quoted:
"If I find 10,000 ways something won’t work, I haven’t failed. I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward".
He was only one man, what kind of impact could one man have in the world?
And yet as we know, his determination and ideas, revolutionized our world as we know it.
Sometimes we still tend to think, even after hearing inspiring stories and events, What can one person do?
The world has that mentality, you know the glass is half empty all the time line of thinking,
but with God in our life, we should have a “my cup continues to runneth over” mentality!
Because if you believe it and live it, guess what, it does!
How long are we Christians going to wait, to start experiencing the abundant life that God has for us?
And if were not experiencing it, what kind of picture does that paint for the ones were trying to win to Christ,
you know our friends and family that are looking at our lives and saying, what’s so great about your life.
What if the ones who were there that day of the “Great Commission”, had the cup ½ full mentality.
None of us would probably be here this morning if they would have,
Were they perfect? “No,” but they had the desire and commitment, and they had determination!
After all they had to, they had no modern conveniences, no face book, no twitter, no T.V., no radio, not even a mass mailer,
but yet they readily accepted the challenge put before them that day.
They realized then, the same thing that still holds true today, “people need to hear what God has to say!”
Romans 10:11-15 NKJ
11. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” 12. For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him.
13. For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”
14. How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?
15. And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written:
“ How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace,
Who bring glad tidings of good things!”
If were going to do something for the Kingdom of God, then were going to have to get up off the couch,
we will never get anything accomplished sitting on the sidelines!
We don’t need to worry about the results, in fact God doesn’t need our help worrying about the results,
He just said “GO!” and “Tell,” and keep on going and telling, until the whole world knows about the Good News of His Son Jesus and His Salvation message,
If My name is lifted up, Jesus said “I will draw all men unto me”
If you think about it, God gave us the easy part, He’s the one with the real challenge.
Its funny how human nature is though, anytime were involved in it, we always think that we have the hardest job.
It seems like its always about what God can do for us, instead of what we can do for Him,
Seems as though we treat God and the church, like we are only consumers,
You know, the way we treat Walmart
By that I mean, if Walmart doesn’t have what we want or treat us the way we want to be treated,
we get miffed and we go to Target,
and if they don’t have what we want or treat us the way we want to be treated,
we go to Kohls and if they don’t have what we want, etc., etc., etc.
And then after enough time goes by, we go back to Walmart and the circle starts again, when is enough, enough.
Christianity is not a vending machine,
One does not drive all over town looking for the flavor of the day, that will make you feel a certain way.
Explain to me, how in the world that lifts up the name of Jesus.
Its time to ask not what God and your church can do for you, but what you can do for God, in your church!
It’s a consumer type mindset towards the body of Christ that grieves God’s heart.
It’s the same mindset the world has, gimme, gimme, gimme, I’m entitled and I want it now!
Luke 6:37-38 NKJ.
37 “Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”
When do we start to practice the golden rule, and learn that its all about the “giving!”
It seems as though, nobody wants to get involved and get committed to the assignment the Lord gave us, “The Great Commission”
And there are thousands of church’s today, that are suffering because of it.
There are thousands of church’s that have closed because of it!!
Oh, they can tell you what they don’t like and everything that’s wrong with the local church‘s.
Because they’ve been to all of them!
Its time to stop this insane Christainity, Jesus didn’t die so we could sample different churches like a buffet.
Jesus is coming back for a “Glorious Church”, and in order to achieve that, were going to have to have, some help!
We live in the most technological age in the history of the world,
what used to take 7-12 yrs. Now takes 7-12 months to happen,
What, don’t believe me, try buying a computer, you’ll find that by the time you get familiar with it, its time to update.
Do you remember when you were a kid thinking with your wild imagination, boy it would sure be neat if they invented this or that,
Everything that you ever thought of, has been invented and has went leaps and bounds past that!
We are alive at the greatest time in history for the advance of the gospel.
We have face book, twitter, I pads, camera phones and our circle of friends.
And its great, to have friends and to be able to network and share together.
The bible has a little bit to say about networking.
Hebrews 10:24-26 NKJ.
24. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works,
25. not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.
Its not talking about our circle of friends on Face book, don’t get me wrong I’m not coming down on face book and other media outlets,
they can be and are wonderful tools for spreading the gospel.
Its talking about the assembling together in the local church.
Its talking about the going to and the building up of the church and its people as the Name of Jesus is praised.
And still some say, I’ve tried the local church’s and they just don’t do it for me.
God help us if we keep the world waiting for us while we try to find the perfect church.
Let me tell you something here and now, you’re never going to find the perfect church,
Remember, were dealing with human nature and there was only one that was perfect,
perfection won’t be found here on earth again, until we hear the trumpet in the sky.
If someone is not finding what they’re looking for in the church there attending,
its probably because God wants them to provide it.
“What,” me provide what “I’m” looking for, you must be joking. “Me…”
No seriously, maybe God is really calling you to that ministry,
Don’t be a Jonah, and make God use something really, really big
to get you involved in what you think the church ought to be offering, because He will.
Friends, we have all the makings for a great Nineveh revival in our midst,
we have the ability, the resources, the talent and we have the people.
What we don’t have is, people aware that they already possess what it takes and are willing to use what they have to make a difference for the Kingdom of God!
If our generation, and I’m talking about everyone that’s alive here this morning, doesn’t make the impact it should,
It won’t be because it didn’t have the resources, or means.
It will be because to many people stayed on the sidelines and didn’t get involved and really make a commitment,
A commitment to do everything that they could do, to make a difference.
What we have in the church, is still everything the world is looking and longing for.
God help us if we keep the world waiting any longer, while we decide whether or not to stay on the side lines or to get in the game.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, this life is but a vapor, life is short and
All that matters in this life, is what we do for the Lord.
One day when we stand before Him, He’s
not going to be impressed or pleased when He asked what did you do to further His cause and you say,
Lord, I spent my entire life finding what was wrong with the church and I worked hard at it too,
Instead of finding fault, look for an opportunity to get involved and focus on lifting up the name of Jesus in the church,
And you’ll start seeing everything that’s right instead of everything that’s wrong.
Do everything you can for the Lord in the church, take advantage of every opportunity that comes your way to further the cause of Christ.
So that one day, you’ll here the Lord say the same thing He said to David, “Well done thou good and faithful servant.”
This morning, it doesn’t matter what age group you fit in, God has something very important, waiting just for you to do.
God wants to do incredible things in His church this morning, all He is waiting for is someone to stand up, embrace the challenge and say,
“Here am I Lord, Use me.”
