Fishers of Men and Five Ways to Fish
We trust today’s message encouraged and guided you in your journey of following Jesus. These notes are meant to help you remember and reflect on the message, help you go deeper into study on the subject, or to be used for a sermon group discussion. CLICK HERE to find a discussion group. Enjoy!
Sermon Title: Fishers of Men and Five Ways to Fish
Main Scriptures: Matthew 4:18-22; Matthew 28:18-20
If you’re going through this discussion with a community group this week consider taking the time to read the provided scripture to catch everyone up!
Teaching Notes:
Introduction:
Calvary’s vision and strategy to reach Delaware and our world….
We Reach, Connect, Grow, Empower & Go into our world to make disciples of Jesus.
REACH our world with the love of Christ.
CONNECT our world to the gospel and family of God.
GROW believers into disciples of Christ.
EMPOWER disciples to be disciple-makers.
GO into our world to make disciples.
Matthew 4:18-22
18 One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers—Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew—throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. 19 Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” 20 And they left their nets at once and followed him.
21 A little farther up the shore he saw two other brothers, James and John, sitting in a boat with their father, Zebedee, repairing their nets. And he called them to come, too. 22 They immediately followed him, leaving the boat and their father behind.
“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” -Matthew 4:19 Berean Study Bible
I call this the fulfilling Christian life. The whole Christian life is packed into this scripture. The salvation of Jesus, the relationship with Jesus, the transformation into being like Jesus, and ministry with Jesus.
“Come...” Invitation
God came to us in human form in Christ. He came to earth, Emmanuel (GOD with us), to reach out in love and save us. He doesn’t force our return, He invites us to come back, to come home and be with Him. We do the same as we GO. We invite people to come and see, hear and discover Christ whether it is at church, in our homes, over dinner, or doing everyday life together.
“Follow me…” Salvation & Consecration
*Salvation can happen after an invitation or when someone starts to follow Jesus and then comes to believe in Christ.
Consecrate means to make holy and set apart for God’s purposes.
Jesus calls us to believe but also repentance and devotion. Turn to Christ, and have no other gods before Him. Jesus calls us not to have or serve two masters, because you can only serve one, faithfully. When we follow one, we unfollow all others. When we believe and follow Christ we are consecrated, sanctified, and devoted to Jesus Christ. This is not easy. Following Jesus calls us to deny our fleshly desires and the evil in this world. It takes surrendering to Jesus as the only way, truth, and life. But what we gain in Christ is far greater than what we lose in this world.
“I will make you...” Transformation
This part of our Christian life is very important but it depends on whether we come, follow and fellowship with God. Jesus wants to impart all that we need to be fishers of men, to be disciples who make disciples. This part is the Impartation, growth, empowering, equipping, on-the-job training, and ministry school we go through as Jesus’ students (disciples).
Jesus did this by demonstrating and including them in His ministry (Matthew 10.) We grow and equip through experience too. We don’t wait until we are perfect, there is no such thing. (Matthew 10
Jesus said to His disciples in John 15, apart from me, you can do nothing. Who they were becoming, what they were being transformed into, and what they would do for the kingdom of God could not be done without remaining in and depending on the source of life, Jesus Christ. Jesus imparted much of His wisdom and teaching but Jesus would depart so He could impart the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit empowered them (us) to be witnesses throughout the region and world (John 14-16; Acts 1:8).
“Fishers of men…” The Great Commission
This is the heart and mission of God. The reason Jesus came, to seek and to save the lost. The reason we are saved, but the reason we are still here. As we follow Jesus we follow Him to the mission fields of our neighborhoods, workplaces, and communities. When we truly follow Jesus we grow in solidarity with His passion, His mission, His heartbeat for those who are still lost.
Matthew 28:18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
We can’t separate this part from the Christian life. When Jesus called the first disciples he told us all what mattered to Him the most. It was our salvation and now all those who are yet to be saved.
“Fishers of men” is THE great adventure, the reason Christianity is exciting and not boring. The reason we face spiritual warfare, the reason the Holy Spirit has come to fill, empower, and guide us. The reason I get up and labor for the Lord, whether it’s to seek and lead my neighbor to the savior or train and empower disciples like you to do it as well. This is why we are still here!
Without “Fishers of Men '' why are we here? What purpose do we have to live our lives? Jesus didn’t say, I will make you excellent Bible readers or excellent church attenders or excellent prayer warriors. All of those are great, but from the beginning, Jesus was upfront about the end goal of saving these men and turning them into disciples who reach and make more disciples.
Without the mission of Christ, there is a gaping hole in the Christian life. The mission of Christ brings fulfillment, purpose, and meaning to our Christian lives.
I’ve heard it said that our purpose is to glorify God, to shine and show the glory of God. But why? So that those who do not know or believe yet would also glorify (Matthew 5:14-16).
Many followers say they feel the most fulfilled when they are on mission, they know this because when they revert to not being missional they are unfulfilled.
My testimony. I have personally found purpose in this scripture. Our lives as Christians have meaning and purpose because of the mission to reach and save those without Christ. When I was 12 years old I made a decision to follow Jesus.
Have you decided? There’s a decision in this verse. The fishermen, these men made their decision. I made mine. I didn’t know it would lead me to be in full-time ministry. We’re not all meant to do full-time ministry but we’re all meant to be full-time Christians. We’re all invited to come and follow Jesus. All those who do are transformed and consecrated for His purposes. We all have a testimony of how Jesus has changed and blessed our lives that we can share. Will you follow Jesus and let him make you into a fisher of men? Will you help fulfill the command to be a disciple who makes disciples of Jesus? If yes, I have some practical advice right now.
Follow Jesus’ lead
Jesus was a master at evangelizing. We typically see the big things Jesus did but what we can often miss in the stories of the Bible are the simple things Jesus did to share the good news. Jesus taught and preached to large crowds and He performed miracles but Jesus also prayed, listened, ate with sinners, served, and shared His story. Jesus was present in people’s lives through simple, everyday practices that we can use to start reaching and leading people to Jesus.
B.L.E.S.S. is an acronym I first learned from Dr. Rick Richardson’s in a podcast and then read later in https://influencemagazine.com/Practice/The-Conversion-Community
We call them the BLESS practices, rooted in God’s promise to Abraham that God would fulfill His mission by blessing Abraham and then by blessing all the nations of the earth through Abraham. The five missional practices are:
Begin with prayer: Pray for and with unchurched people.
Jesus prayed all the time for day-to-day ministry.
Prayer prepares us. Prayer tunes our hearts and eyes to see the mission field and be more aware of what God is up to.
(Prayer story.)
Listen: Take time to hear from people and learn their spiritual stories.
Asking questions and then listening was central to Jesus’ ministry.
Listening is connecting. Listening helps us know where to connect, what to pray for, where we can serve, and eventually we will share.
(My story of what I hear.)
Eat: Develop the relationship through sharing food.
Jesus liked to eat. The book of Luke records Jesus eating meals 10 times.
We eat on average 21 times a week. Could we use two meals to connect?
Eating moves people from just acquaintances to friendship.
Jesus was often found eating with those who were considered the worst of sinners. Zaccheus would have the privilege of eating with Jesus and it changed his life. A lot of listening and sharing stories take place at tables.
Serve: Meet the needs of others, and let them meet yours.
Jesus was clear, “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve.
The time spent praying, listening, and eating has now given you opportunities to know how you can serve others.
True story: Our Neighbors this past Tuesday.
Story: Share your faith story and the story of Jesus.
Jesus knew when to share his story. Whether it was Nicodemus coming at night to ask who He is and what he's all about, or Thomas asking the way to the Father and Jesus said he’s the way, or to dropping truth bombs on the Pharisees.
Jesus’ story wasn’t accepted by all, it wasn’t always popular, but in the crowd of skeptics, there were those who chose to believe and follow Jesus.
Earning the right to share your story and not just waylay someone with the truth is very important. Your story is the best evidence you can offer anyone!
No pressure, seriously.
We can’t convert anyone. We can lead someone to Jesus but it’s the Holy Spirit’s job to convict and convert (John 16:8-11).
Do the B.L.E.S.S.ing and let God do the converting.
Takeaways:
What we gain in Christ is far greater than what we lose in this world.
Without the mission of Christ, there is a gaping hole in the Christian life.
The mission of Christ brings fulfillment, purpose, and meaning to our Christian lives.
We’re not all meant to do full-time ministry but we’re all meant to be full-time Christians.
We can lead someone to Jesus but it’s the Holy Spirit’s job to convict and convert.
Do the B.L.E.S.S.ing and let God do the converting.
Discussion:
What was one big takeaway for you from today’s message?
What is something new you learned, from the message?
What scripture verse stuck out to you and why?
What did you sense the Holy Spirit was saying to you during this message?
Who are on your mind to start B.L.E.S.S.ing?
If you have already been B.L.E.S.S.ing in your own way what tips could you share with the group?
Start to hold each other accountable to these everyday B.L.E.S.S. practices.
The most important decision you will ever make!
If you are ready to experience salvation and be transformed we encourage you to say a simple prayer like this from your heart: Dear God, I see my sin and how wrong it is. I see that without Jesus I’m lost. I believe in Jesus as my Lord and Savior. Thank you for saving me from my sin, my past, this world, and eternal death. I repent, I turn away from my old life and I put my faith and life in Jesus! Amen!
We would love to know if you made the decision to accept this wonderful gift from God. Let us know here.
Pray Together
We hoped you found this AFTER THE SERMON discussion helpful for your walk with Jesus. We pray you can find ways to apply it this week!