SHEPHERD TO
SHEEP
FISHERS OF MEN
(Mat 4:19) Then He said to them, “Follow Me,
and I will make you fishers of men.”
One day Jesus was walking by the
Sea of Galilee and saw Peter and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea
as they were fishermen. Jesus walked
right up to them and said they were to follow Him and that in so doing they
would now be occupied with fishing for men’s souls. But is it a call just for two brothers who
became disciples? It’s for all followers
of Christ of all times.
The question from the beginning is
whether a follower of Christ should be silent and let God do the converting or
if a believer should actively share their faith. Upon conversion it is quite natural to
experience a spiritual high and to tell friends and family you are now
following Jesus (Mark 5:18-20; Acts 10:24).
After that there might be a cooling off period where you decide to just
live the faith more than proclaim it. But
that is like asking which wing of an airplane is the most important, the right
or the left?! The gospel needs to be
given out so people can hear the good news of Jesus and then place their faith
in Him (Rom 1:16; Rom 10:14-15).
Those of us who believe we should
actively share our faith are termed evangelicals by others. That’s not such a bad term because to be an
evangelist (euaggelizo) means to
bring good news to someone. The word preach (kerusso) means to publish or proclaim openly like the heralds that
used to go around the city and shout out the current news. And the word proclaim (kataggello) means to announce publically. Isn’t that what we are doing when share how
Jesus died for sinners and that they can be saved if they place their trust in
His work on the cross for their sins?
The next time you go to church take
a good look at those empty chairs. Each
chair represents a person. You might ask
why don’t more people come to church and fill up those seats? Or you may be so spiritual and say that God
will bring people when it’s their time.
But the Bible says that now is the day of salvation (2 Cor 6:2). There is an urgency about the gospel that
calls all men everywhere to repent (Acts 17:30). And we
are all placed under the imperative of the Great Commission to reach the whole
world for Him (Mat 28:18-20). And the
world is won one by one. And that one is
the one God places right in front of you.
What about that person you work
with? Have you told them the message of
Jesus? Have you led your children to
Christ? Have you prayed the prayer with
them to receive the Lord? Does that
person you always talk with know Christ as their Savior? Have you switched over from small talk to
tall talk? If they died tonight where
would their soul be for all eternity? We
talk about the weather, politics, sports, the economy and a myriad of other
things but have people heard the greatest news of all through you? Let’s ask the Lord to give us a burden for
lost souls and for fresh opportunities to share God’s love and the boldness to
be a fisher of men!
Louie
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