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 Daily
Grace At
Jesus` Feet
February
6, 2010
Fisherman!
or Fisher of Men!
“Come, follow me,”
Jesus said, “and I will make you
fishers of men.” – Matthew 4:19
Jesus
chose dozen men to follow him and also commanded them to become fishers
of men.
Jesus recruited twelve men mostly fishermen; one was a tax collector.
Only one prime
qualification Jesus looked for in a CV, not the “ability” but
the “availability.”
During
the summer of 2006, I had an opportunity to lead a group of 14 from our
church
to go on a mission trip to a place called “Nagercoil” in southern part
of India.
We
helped build homes for the fishermen who lost homes during the December
2004
Tsunami. As we got to see them and know them, we understood little bit
about them during our 10 days trip. They do lead a faith life in their
profession as fishermen. They predict the times and zones to cast their
nets; they go with empty
boats
with a trust that they may have a good catch; some times they return
with
good
returns and sometimes none. They trust in the unknown outcome, they are
available anytime to go into the sea, and are willing to face any
outcome
(whether they get plenty of fish or none). Basically, fishermen exhibit
patience, persistence,
perseverance, and availability. No wonder Jesus chose this type of men,
empowered them with the Holy Spirit, and sent them to be
“fishers
of men” to reach the world.
The
“calling
of disciples” was recorded in all the four gospels (Matthew 4:18-19,
Mark 1:16-17,
Luke 5:1-11, and John 21:1-6). All four authors emphasize the need for
the
fishers of men in the furtherance of God’s kingdom. These passages
teach us so
many truths and the need to reach the world to fulfill the “great
commission”
Jesus Christ commanded His disciples (you and me) to obey. We read in
Luke
5:1-11, a complete story of Jesus` disciple-recruitment strategy. When
Jesus
stood on the shore of the
lake
of Gennesaret, we
read in
verse 1 that “great crowds” pressed in
on him “to
listen” to the word of God. There are great crowds waiting to hear the
gospel
and wants to follow him. It is the duty of his disciples to take the
gospel to
the unreached. Paul challenges us in Romans 10:14, “How, then, can they
call on
the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one
of whom
they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to
them?”
Every one of the disciple of Jesus Christ is needed to take the gospel
to the
unreached hearts and parts of the world. As we can see these fishermen
persevered “casting their nets” all night. Simply they did their Job!
We as His
disciples, need to simply do our job of "reaching, serving, and
disciple
making." It is
our God who will make our ministries fruitful in His times. Remember
“Persistence” and “Perseverance” is the two eyes on the face of
ministry. We
read in Luke 5:7, the fishermen signaled others to “come and help” with
catch.
Reach-out ministries need the support and help of other disciples to
see
fruitfulness. One can’t do it all. It has always been a concerted
effort
before
the eyes of God. While fishing, one cast the net, another row the boat,
another
pick fishes. Similar strategy need to be understood and employed in our
reaching out ministries. Jesus said to Simon, “Put out into the deep
and let
down your nets for a catch." Jesus suggested a new strategy that led to
success. Sometimes, we need to be receptive to pursue God’s directions.
There
may be a need to make changes. We need to go to the “other side” in
obedience
to His call. Success is far fetched to those who are unwilling to make
necessary changes in their lives and ministries. The disciples even
though they
had their own reasons, ultimately listened and obeyed to Jesus Christ
and
reaped great success in fishing. After brainstorming the qualities of
those
early disciples during this incident, finally Jesus Christ decided to
recruit
them for the job of reaching the world to fulfill the great commission.
These
disciples listened and obeyed Jesus Christ, they were available and
faithful to
comply with Jesus` directions, and above all they are willing to be
followers
of Jesus Christ. They were willing to walk in the ways of our Lord and
obey His
words. When Jesus told them to first “Come and Follow,” they “Came
and
Followed" Him. Jesus told them to make Him a “first priority.” They
did not
follow the blessings from the sea, but they first followed or walked in
His
ways before they talked the gospel to others. Jesus Christ is looking
for those
who will first come and follow His Word before showing them the mission
field.
In John 10:27, Jesus Christ refers sheep to his disciples, He say, “My
sheep
listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”
Today there
are great needs to reach out people and
God wanting you to follow him and be a fisher of men. Would you take
this
seriously and obey His call to your life. Several ways you can be a
fisher of men.
You can be a friend to a fisher of men and support him to hold God’s
work. If
God calls you to be a full time missionary you may pursue that call.
There are
very many ways you be a fisher of men. You can partner with a
missionary and
support the Word of God reach the unreached; you may serve in a local
church in so many ways. You
may use your talents in every possible way to the furtherance of God’s
kingdom.
Jesus cries
out to us in Matthew 9:36-38 to consider reaching people for Him. We
read, “When he saw the crowds, he had
compassion on them,
because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
Then he
said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are
few.
Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his
harvest
field. "You have the option to support or send; resources to the
mission
field; you may pay or pray for God to send more fishers of men to the
mission
field. If you do not involve, who will?
Alila
stood on the beach holding her tiny infant son close to her heart.
Tears welled
in her eyes as she began slowly walking toward the river's edge. She
stepped
into the water, silently making her way out until she was waist deep,
the water
gently lapping at the sleeping baby's feet. She stood there for a long
time
holding the child tightly as she stared out across the river. Then all
of a
sudden in one quick movement she threw the six month old baby to his
watery
death. Native missionary M.V. Varghese often witnesses among the crowds
who
gather at the Ganges. It was he who
came upon
Alila that day kneeling in the sand crying uncontrollably and beating
her
breast. With compassion he knelt down next to her and asked her what
was wrong.
Through he sobs she told him, "The problems in my home are too many and
my
sins are heavy on my heart, so I offered the best I have to the goddess
Ganges, my first born son."
Brother Varghese's heart
ached for the desperate woman. As she wept he gently began to tell her
about
the love of Jesus and that through Him her sins could be forgiven. She
looked
at him strangely. "I have never heard that before," she replied
through her tears. "Why couldn't you have come thirty minutes earlier?
If
you did, my child would not have had to die." Each year millions of
people
come to the holy Indian city of Hardwar
to bathe in the River Ganges. These multitudes come believing this
Hindu ritual
will wash their sins away. For many people like Alila, missionaries are
arriving too late, simply because there aren't enough of these faithful
brothers and sisters on the mission field. (Credit: Christianity
Today, 1993).
Would
you
be a fisher of men? “Come and follow” Christ; then “Go and follow” the
road to
the Mission field!
Prayer:
Father help me to share the love of Christ who are yet to experience
the way I
experience in my life. Make me a bold witness in reaching out your
world. Equip
me! Empower me! and Enable me! In Jesus Name……….Amen!
May
you
have an Enjoyable Saturday!
“Daily
Grace
at Jesus` Feet,” - Devotionals written by Dr. Paul Joseph. Copyright
2010
- 2011 Dr. Paul Joseph; All
rights reserved.
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