U GETTA A LINE, I’LL GETTA POLE
Matthew 4:18-25
DO YOU REMEMBER THAT OLD SONG “U GETTA A LINE I’LL GETTA POLE AND WE DOWN TO THE CRAWDAD HOLE”? IT’S ONE OF THOSE SONGS THAT GETS IN YOUR HEAD & DRIVES YOU CRAZY!!!!
AS A BOY MY DAD WOULD TAKE ME FISHING! WE WOULD LOAD THE FISHING POLES & TACKLE, STOP BY THE BAIT SHOP & HEAD FOR THE LAKE. THE WATER SLICK AS GLASS IT ALL SEEM SO CLAM….PEACEFUL….TRANQUIL!!! “WE WERE FISHIN”
IT DIDN’T MATTER IF WE CAUGHT ANYTHING, THE FISH WERE EXTRA, JUST THE EXPERENCE OF FISHIN WAS REWARD ENOUGH!
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IT REMINDS ME OF THE DAY THAT JESUS SAID TO SOME MEN “U GEETA LINE, I’LL GETTA POLE & LETS GO FISHIN”….
WELL HE ACTUALLY SAID “COME….I’LL MAKE YOU FISHERS OF MEN”
- WHAT DOES THAT MEAN “FISHERS OF MEN”?
- HOW DO YOU CATCH MEN?
- IF YOU CAUGH ONE WHAT IN THE WORLD WOULD YOU DO WITH HIM?
WELL TODAY WE BEGAN A SERIES I’VE TITLED “GONE FISHIN”! OVER THE NEXT FEW WEEKS WE ARE GOING TO CONSIDER THIS CALL TO BE “FISHERS OF MEN” AND WHAT IT MEANS IN OUR LIVES.
MY PRAYER IS THAT EACH OF US MIGHT GAIN INSIGHT & OBEDIENCE WHEN COMES TO SHAREING OUR FAITH WITH OTHERS!
MOST IMPORTANTLY THE PRIVILEGE OF THE PROCESS!
Matthew 4:18-22 18As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." 20At once they left their nets and followed him.
21Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John.
They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, 22and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
THEN NOTICE WHAT HAPPENED: 23Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.
24News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them. 25Large crowds from Galilee, Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him.
WHAT AN AMAZING STORY! JESUS WASN’T JOKING WHEN HE SAID “I’LL MAKE YOU FISHERS OF MEN” THEY WERE CATICHING MEN FOR CHRIST…DID YOU CATCH THAT?
THEY WERE…
TEACHING….PREACHING….HEALING…FREEING…& SPREADING THE GOOD NEWS & NOTE CROWDS FOLLOWED!
* THIS AUTHENTICATED THAT HE WAS INDEED THE MESSIAH !
BUT WHY FISH FOR MEN?
I. It’s God’s Plan: V-19 & 21
“JESUS CALLED THEM”
AS YOU READ THROUGH GOD’S WORD IT BECOMES VERY CLEAR THAT GOD ALWAYS HAS A PLAN!
- Abraham’s family would be God’s chosen people!
- Moses would lead Israel to freedom
- David would be a king after God’s heart
- John the Baptist would be a pathfinder for Jesus
- The disciples were to help birth the church of Jesus Christ
GOD ALWAYS HAS A MASTER PLAN FOR HE IS THE MASTER! BY THAT I MEAN HE IS THE SOVEREIGN LORD & HIS PLAN TO SHARE HIS SON WITH THIS WORD INVOLVED MEN & WOMEN LIKE YOU & ME!
THEREFORE, HE WOULD SAY “COME I’LL MAKE YOU FISHEWRS OF MEN”!
The term “fishers of men” was not new to these men. For centuries, Greek & Roman philosophers used it to describe the work of a man who sought to “catch” others by his teaching & persuasion.
JESUS WAS CALLING ANDREW, JAMES, JOHN & PETER TO CATCH MEN FOR GOD….IT WAS HIS PLAN TO USE MEN TO CATCH OTHER MEN!
Matthew 28:19-20
19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[1] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Acts 4:11 Peter & John before Sanhedrin
He is " ’the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone. Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."
ILLUSTRATION: R. G. Lee told about walking down the street & a drunk staggered up to him and said, “Oh, Preacher, I’m one of your converts.” The preacher looked at him and said,
“Yeah, you look like one of mine cuz, you certainly don’t look like one of the Lord’s.”
MY FRIEND ARE YOU A TRUE FOLLOWER OF JESUS CHRIST? - DO YOU LOVE HIM…OBEY HIM…LONG FOR HIM? - DO YOU SEEK, SERVE & SHARE HIM?
IF NOT YOUR MISSING THE PRIVILEGDE OF THE PROCESS! THE PRIVILGDE TO PARTNER W/ GOD & INTRODUCE OTHER MEN TO HIS SON!
YOU’RE ALSO MISSING OUT ON HIS BLESSING…THE BLESSING THAT COMES WITH OBEDIENCE TO HIS PLAN!
Matthew 10:32-33
32"Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. 33But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven
II. It’s Our Responsibility: V-20 & 22 20At once they left their nets and followed him. 22and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
OF the disciples 4 possibly 7 of them were professional fishermen. Why would Jesus call so many fishermen to His side?
In Jesus day, fishermen were busy people; professional fishermen did not sit around doing nothing.
- They either-sorted their catch - Prepared for a catch, or - Mended their equipment.
The Lord needs busy people who are not afraid to work.
THESE WOULD-BE DISCIPLES WERE NOT MERILY SUPPORTERS OF THIS MISSION W/ JESUS….THEY BECAME FISHERS OF MEN THEMSELVES WINNING SOULS FOR GOD’S KINGDOM.
THEIR EXAMPLE DEMONSTRATES THE COMPLETE COMMITMENT THAT IS REQUIRED OF JESUS… “IT IS OUR RESPONSIBILITY”
Matthew 9:36-38
36When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."
John 5:17
17Jesus said to them, "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working."
Romans 10:14-15
14How, 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? 15And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"
ILLUSTRATION: There is a story of Billy Graham when he was visiting a city for one of his crusades. He had finished writing a letter and began to look for a place to mail it.
Walking around the city for a while, he came across a young boy. He asked the boy if he knew how to get to the post office. The boy gave Billy Graham the directions and before leaving, Billy said to the boy, “Come on over to the arena tonight and I’ll tell you how to get to heaven.” The boy looked at him and replied, “How can you know how to get to heaven? You don’t even know the way to the post office!”
MY FRIEND IF YOU DON’T RECOGNIZE & ACCEPT YOUR GOD GIVEN RESPONSIBILITY TO “FISH FOR MEN” ..…HOW CAN OTHERS FIND THEIR WAY TO HEAVEN?
SHARING OUR FAITH…WITNESSING….FISHERS OF MEN!!! CALL IT WHAT YOU WANT, BUT UNDERSTAND….
- IT’S YOUR RESPONSIBILITY - GIVEN TO YOU BY GOD - YOU HAVE BEEN GIVEN THE PRIVILGDE OF THE PROCES - IT’S HIS PLAN - MAY YOU BE “A FISHER OF MEN”
III. It’s Mans Salvation: v- 25 Large crowds from Galilee, Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him.
YOU KNOW WHY MANY FOLLOWED HIM? BECAUSE THEY ACCEPTED THE GOOD NEWS HE SHARED…AND DO YOU KNOW WHERE THEY FOLLOWED HIM? RIGHT TO HEAVEN!
THE REASON WE ARE TO “FISH FOR MEN” IS THAT IT’S…
- GOD’S PLAN
- OUR RESPONSIBILITY…AND
- THE SOULS OF MEN HANG IN THE BALANCE OF OUR OBEDIENCE or DIOBEDIENCE!
“Fishing for men” is one of many word pictures of evangelism found in scripture.
Jesus also talked about… - THE SHEPHARD & THE SHEEP - THE WORKERS & THE HARVEST
THE IMPLICATION WAS THIS “MEN WOULD REACH MEN FOR JESUS”!
Matthew 9:35-38
35Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."
John 3:15-18 15that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.16"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
ILLUSTRATION: I dare say that everyone knows the story about the Titanic a huge passenger ship that sank in 1912…1,500 people died! However, the greatest tragedy was this…none of the 20 lifeboats were full but yet they paddled away. Most of those who died that night did not drown they froze to death in the fridged water.
The people in the lifeboats heard the cries of those dying people, but they chose not to go back.
Those who were already saved didn’t go after those who were dying.
MY FRIEND THOSE OF US WHO ARE SAVED SHOULD GO BACK FOR THOSE WHO ARE DYING! IT’S GOD’S PLAN….OUR RESPONSIBILITY…MAN’S SALVATION!
