Fishers of Men

Psalm 96 verse 2 says, ‘sing to the Lord, bless his name: proclaim the good news of his salvation from day-to-day’

 Matthew 4 verses 18 to 22 says, ‘18 And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 19 Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 They immediately 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. He called them, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.’

Matthew 28 verses 16 to 20, the Great Commission, says ‘16 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. 17 When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

There is no easy way to say this other than there are no exceptions! Every man or woman who claims Jesus as saviour, Redeemer and Lord has this duty, this responsibility, this commandment and Commission. To proclaim Christ and his good news every day throughout the earth. As I have written before the acts of the Saints are

1 All called to serve

2 All called to share

3 All called to save.

We as Christ disciples are in the gospel business. We are not our own anymore, but our servants, sons, yes, even slaves, of love to Jesus. In Matthew 10 verses 32 to 39 it says this, ‘32 “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. 33 But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.

34 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. 35 For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; 36 and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ 37 He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38 And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39 He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.

It's very easy to say I don't know my Bible or I have had no Bible school training or even it's not my calling because it's every and all Christians calling. The churches today fear 2 main doctrines the first is prayer, the second is evangelism or witnessing or testifying to the name, and power, and reality that is Jesus Christ!

Effective, fervent, passionate White Hot prayer is the preparation for all evangelism. It is God the Holy Spirit that teaches us to pray and the Bible has many model prayers that we can adopt as our own and as children of God. Not least the Lord’s prayer from the beatitudes! It is not about being articulate that counts but praying from the heart of love. Praise is prayer and a pathway into the presence of God, for God inhabits the praises of his people! Prayer can be very simple words that produce great power and protection for the Saints of God. But how do we simplify evangelism? The real gospel of Jesus Christ is the message shared of what Jesus has done in my life, your life, our lives! How it has changed us and put us on a path, a path that stretches endlessly into eternal life! By faith, Christ has come and lives in me and I am on a journey of change from selfishness to selflessness. I convert no one! It is the Holy Spirit that converts the soul (Psalm 19) I am a messenger, a Living stone sharing the good news with the other needful souls! Yesterday I was lost, today I am saved and must share this marvellous news.

In the parable of the seaed in Luke 8 verses 4 to 15 it says, ‘4 And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable: 5 “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. 6 Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. 8 But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold.” When He had said these things He cried, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” 9 Then His disciples asked Him, saying, “What does this parable mean?” 10 And He said, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that ‘Seeing they may not see, And hearing they may not understand.’ 11 “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12 Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. 13 But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. 14 Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. 15 But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.

We see that the gospel is not received by all, but rejected by many but Even so it is proclaimed and shared and some seed produces a mighty harvest. But whether accepted or rejected it is still shared and brings in many cases, many to come to the cross of Jesus and freedom. The glorious gospel is committed to each of us to bring prodigals and sinners home. 1 Timothy 1 verses 8 to 11 says this, ‘8 But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, 9 knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, 10 for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine, 11 according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust.

 1 Peter 3 verse 15 says this, ‘15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;

Don't ever apologise for the truth of the gospel there is no shame in following Christ!

Isaiah 52 verse 7 says, ‘How beautiful upon the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who proclaims peace, Who brings glad tidings of good things, Who proclaims salvation, Who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”

This of the good news and its messengers.

Finally in Revelation 14 verses 6 to 7 we see that even angels proclaim the good news not only at the birth of Jesus but also at the end of time. It says, ‘ 6 Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people— 7 saying with a loud voice, “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.”

Remember there are no exceptions!