FISHERS OF MEN
Text: Matthew 4:12-23
Paul Harvey once said, “We’ve drifted away from being fishers of men to being keepers of the aquarium.” (Roy B. Zuck. ed. The Speaker’s Quote Book . Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1997, p. 134). Is he right? Have we become keepers of the aquarium instead of the fishers of men that we were called to be? Are we missing our calling to be fishers of men?
Although the Pharisees probably did not take kindly to John the Baptist’s “in-your-face” approach they were not the ones who arrested him. It was Herod who had John arrested. It was not until the fourteenth chapter of Matthew that we find out the reason for the arrest which was that John preached against Herod’s inappropriate marriage to his sister-in-law Herodias. John the Baptist had gone as far as he possibly could in this life “running out the specific race that race that set before him with perseverance” (Hebrews 12:1).
Just because John the Baptizer was arrested it did not mean that the light was going out! Following John’s arrest, Jesus began His ministry of preaching repentance. Jesus began His ministry of seeking to save the “lost, the last and the least”. Matthew illustrates in verses 15 – 16 that Jesus is the light that Isaiah 9:1-2 prophesied about: Isaiah 9:2 “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. They lived in a land of shadows, but now light is shining on them” (GNB). If we were on trial for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence of how we have shined for Jesus to convict us? Why is that an important question? It is important because Jesus comes in and calls His disciples to be “fishers of men” against the backdrop of John the Baptizer’s arrest.
Jesus began to teach His disciples about the patience , opportunity and wisdom of becoming “fishers of men”.
PATIENCE
All fishermen need patience don’t they? 1) Technology has potholes: The world we live in is a world that teaches us about immediate gratification. Everything we do or want to inquire about involves the click of a mouse button. 2) Wisdom Tempered by time: Much like our world of advanced technology, we want to be able to have a press button order and see immediate kinds of results in other areas of our lives. It is helpful if we remember one of Aesop's fables about the race between the tortoise and the hare. As we know the moral of that story is that slow and steady wins the race.
Patience and preparation payoff in the long run. 1) Time and experience: How long did Jesus prepare before He entered into His ministry? 2) Appointed time for dispatch: How long did Moses spend in preparation for the task that God had for him? 3) Mentor: How long did Jesus spend teaching His disciples? 4) Results vary: How long should we wait for the seeds of our efforts to bear fruit? Is it the same with every gospel seed that we plant? The answer to these questions will vary with the people to whom we witness as well as their circumstances.
Do we want quick results that may not last when it comes to being fishers of men? "A mushroom grows up overnight, but it requires a decade to develop an oak." Dr. J. M. Price, the great Christian educator of countless Baptists, wrote these words in his classic little book Jesus the Teacher. He applied these words to the work of a minister and his ministry. The desire for explosive growth is ever before us, but it is the ministry of a mighty oak that we must strive to achieve. Mushrooms vanish quickly, but oak trees will speak to generations not yet born. (Raymond McHenry. McHenry’s Quips, Quotes and Other Notes. [Source: Jesus the Teacher, J. M. Price, 1946, p. 47]. Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, 2004, p. 43). Is our problem that we want oak tree success at mushroom rate?
OPPORTUNITY
One of the best ways to witness is through a port of entry where there may be something in common. "In the time of Jesus the Sea of Galilee was thick with fishing boats. " (William Barclay. The Daily Study Bible Series: The Gospel Of Matthew. Volume 1. Revised Edition. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1975, p. 77). Our time is thick with opportunities that we can use to reach those that are close to us. Everyone knows a friend, a relative, a fellow employee or a neighbor that you could invite to come to church with you. It is also true that those same people might be more likely to come if they are invited by somebody close to them as opposed to being invited by a stranger.
Do we always see the opportunities when they come our way? There are also opportunities that God gives us to reach neighbors who are strangers to us. God calls on us to love Him with all of our hearts, soul, mind and strength and to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. As someone has said, “The right opportunity is always a gift. The problem is to see it.” (Kingsley Bond. Creative Witness. Nashville: Tidings, 1967, p. 17). How often have we missed opportunities? How often has our call to be loving for the forwarding of God’s kingdom fallen short of its goal? I cannot help but to think of how opportunities have been lost that could have changed the outcome. Mahatma Ghandi was turned away by Christians ushers at the entrance of a church in India. One can only wonder how India might have been a different place if that was an opportunity that had not been lost.
II Timothy 4:2 offers this advice: "Preach the word in and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage- --with great patience and careful instruction" (NIV). The key message here is to seize an opportunity and make an effort when the time for proclaiming God's Word might seem out of season. When the time is ripe, people will be persuaded. 2) Are we out of order”? "In the Concordance the order is ---Word, Work, Worker, World. It is the Word, God's Word---for the whole world; but, between the two and indispensable, are work and worker. Often the true sequence is reversed. Christians feel the need of the world, look for a work to do, and them turn to the Word for their message." (A. Naismith. 1200, Notes, Quotes And Anecdotes. Great Britain: Pickering Paperbacks, 1988, p. 210). There is no question that we are out of order when we are concerned only about our own self-preservation!
WISDOM
How do we determine what is wise from what is foolish? 1) Seekers: How many seekers are led astray by the deceptive guidance that come through the world’s wisdom? We could easily say that the answer is in the understanding of the one who seeks wisdom. Nevertheless, what is wise in the eyes of man is foolish and folly in the eyes of God. 1 Corinthians 3:19 says, “For what this world considers to be wisdom is nonsense in God's sight. As the scripture says, "God traps the wise in their cleverness"; (GNB). 2) Source: Can we say that the fruit of wisdom says something about its root----its source? James 3:17 says “But the wisdom from above is pure first of all; it is also peaceful, gentle, and friendly; it is full of compassion and produces a harvest of good deeds; it is free from prejudice and hypocrisy” (GNB). 3) Separation: Job 12:17 says that God “… takes away the wisdom of rulers and makes leaders act like fools” (GNB). That alone tells us that apart from God we can do nothing that we succeed (John 15:5). How many leaders do we see acting like fools because their wisdom is worldly and not heavenly?
Does worldly wisdom use things to entice us? Always! 1) Eye candy factor:
Go back to the beginning of what happened in the Garden of Eden in the book of Genesis and look at what you will find. Genesis 3:6: “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate” (ESV). We can ask “Are the things that delight the eyes a source of wisdom? “ Wasn’t it a desire for that kind of “delight to the eyes” that created a way for Adam and Eve to get deceived? Is it not true that Satan uses the lure for what delights our eyes to deceive us? 2) Counterfeit: The eyes seek things that will delight from the wrong place when the heart is not guided by God. Jeremiah 17:9 reminds us that “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (ESV). When the heart is not guided by the godly wisdom of heaven, it seems that it will always consume the counterfeit wisdom that the world offers from the god of this world aka Satan, offers (II Corinthians 4:4) . Satan lies (John 8:44) to keep people in the dark so that they might not see the light of the Good News (II Corinthians 4:4 GNB paraphrased).
How many are consumed by Satan’s illusions? Consider this story of one man’s folly. “A rich man failed in business. He gathered up the fragments of his wrecked fortune and had in all a few thousand dollars. He determined to go to the West and start anew. He took his money and purchased a motor home, furnishing it in the most luxurious style, and stocking it with provisions for his journey. In this sumptuous vehicle he traveled to his destination. At length he stepped from the door of his motor home and only then thought for the first time of his great folly. He had used all his money in getting to his new home, and now had nothing with which to begin life there. This incident illustrates the foolishness of those who think only of this life and make no provision for eternity”. (HEARTWARMING BIBLE ILLUSTRATIONS. Compiled and Edited by Richard A. Steele, Jr. And Evelyn Stoner). How many have been led astray by this kind of worldly wisdom and made no “provision for eternity”? Material things will never be able to prepare us for our place in eternity!
God will always give us what we need in God’s wisdom when it comes to witnessing to others. The Bible tells us that Stephen’s critics “…were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke”. (Acts 6:10 MKJV). Sometimes our witness might cause someone to ask internal questions about where they are spiritually. When I was a sales clerk I once witnessed to a possible devil worshiper. She had a heavy metal rock t-shirt on. Therefore, I started the conversation with that style of music and began to shift from talking about secular bands to Christian musicians and then one band in particular and their Christian message. If nothing else, I thought it might plant a seed that others would water (I Corinthians 3:6 - 9). Later, when I went to ring her up, her pentagram (a symbol worn by devil worshipers) became visible. I will never known whether or not my presentation of the gospel message got through. Nevertheless, I felt that God had put it upon my heart to witness to her.
Satan tries to tempt us to rely on worldly wisdom to get us off track with our walk and witness. Satan might try to make us decide that we are wasting our time when it comes to witnessing. We have to remember that Gods calls us to be fishers of men who catch the fish but leave the cleaning part to God. We have to remember that God did not call us to be keepers of the aquarium! The scripture says God will give us the words to say when we witness to other about Jesus Christ.
