Go Fish!

Go Fish!

Matt. 4:18-22

June 11, 2006 FBC, Chester Mike Fogerson, Pastor

Introduction:

Lake of Galilee

• 8 miles wide & 13 miles long

• Josephus, 1st century 240 boats regularly fished the waters of that lake.

3 methods of fishing:

Hook & line

Throw a net cast from the shallow water along the shore

Large dragnet strung between two or more boats in the deep water=cooperation

Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 19 And He said* to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. 21 Going on from there He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him. Matt 4:18-22 (NASB)

Jesus’ plan was to use disciples to make disciples (Essence of the text in a sentence)

God wants His followers to be fishers of men (Essence of the sermon in a sentence)

I hope you’ll allow God to make you into the fisher He wants you to be (Objective)

What tip do you need to pay the most attention to in order to become the fisher God wants you to be? (Probing question)

Let’s look at 3 fishing tips from the Master Angler on how to be successful fishers of men.

I The first tip is be a follower of Jesus. Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.

A Peter, Andrew, James, & John responded affirmatively to Jesus’ fishing invitation.

1 "...and they (Peter/Andrew) immediately left the nets and followed Him...and they (James/John) immediately left the boat and their father, and followed Him (v. 20, 22).

2 There were two actions in these verses that the men were to do on their own.

a Obedience (without hesitation, immediately followed)

b Leave something behind (boat, net, a father)

3 No one could make these men follow, it was their desire to do so.

B When we accept Jesus’ claim on our hearts, we are issued the same invitation to go fishing with Jesus that Peter, Andrew, James, & John received.

1 He calls us to salvation & then He calls us to service.

2 There are two realities to being followers of Jesus:

a It requires obedience

aa "I’ll do it when I feel like it." (False)

"I’ll feel like it when I do it." (True)

bb Obedience is the spark that lights passion

cc The way to develop a love for souls is to obey Jesus’ call to win souls.

dd Notice there’s more than one way to fish

b It also requires us to leave something behind

aa Sometimes possessions (boat, nets)

bb Sometimes people (father)

3 Only you can decide if you’re going to follow Jesus.

When Jesus called the disciples to commit themselves to evangelism, He also called Himself to train & empower them.

II The second tip is be formed by Jesus.

A "Follow me and I will make you..." (V. 19)

1 The disciples could only be made into fishers of men by Jesus forming (making) them into fishers.

a They committed to following Jesus & He committed to forming them.

b The power that was needed to become fishers came from Jesus.

2 I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing John 15:5 (NASB) The disciples could do nothing without the power of Jesus!

B When Jesus, through the power of the Holy Spirit, makes us, He makes us from within (the inside out).

1 A skilled wood carver was asked how he did such beautiful work: he answered, "I just cut away everything that isn’t part of what I want it to be."

2 Holy Spirit removes anything/everything that is not part of what He wants us to be.

a Holy Spirit wants to remove anything that stops people from seeing Jesus.

b (IL) a good fisherman keeps himself out of sight as much as possible. (No shadows on water, quiet, deliberate actions)

aa All this so the fish will not see him.

bb A good fisher of men keeps himself out of the picture as much as possible; we can get in the way & cause people to turn away.

cc Lost people need to see Jesus, not us!

3 Jesus said, "Follow Me", so our place is behind Him.

There is a desired end result in this formation...