Friday, February 6, 2009
Mark 1:16-17 As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men."
I WILL MAKE YOU FISHERS
To be missionaries for Christ, we need His help. Look how Jesus worked with His first disciples. They needed help too. They were fisherman. They were not trained gospel preachers. They did not have a complete knowledge of His ministry. But the One who called them had said, "I will make you fishers of men."
Who was it who would turn them into preachers of the word? It was Jesus! It was His ministry, after all. It was His message of repentance and forgiveness that He wanted to get out into the world -- so He would take on the responsibility of making these fishers of fish into fishers of men.
For three years He taught them, prepared them, and guided them so that when He ascended into heaven they would be able to carry on the work He had started: to spread far and wide the news of the salvation of the Lord. he preached to them from mountainsides. He prayed with them. He revealed to them that He was the glorious Son of God. He equipped them to work in His harvest field.
He still equips His servants today. And He says to you, "I will make you fishers of men." He does not work with us face-to-face the way He did with those first fishermen. Rather as Paul wrote in Ephesians 4 (11-12): "It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up. Through the apostles and prophets of old, through pastors and teachers of today, Jesus shares His word with us and prepares His people for works of service.
