ed_Betty@bellsouth.net

One of the hardest things for a Christian to recognize in today’s modern day society is to realize we have somehow become conformed to the world to a certain extent and have ceased to be the soul winner Jesus desires for us to be.  

Along this line I couldn’t help thinking of the manner Jesus used when calling out his disciples and how they obeyed his voice and followed him. He simply said follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. 

When at a nearby beach a familiar scene sometimes is one of a group of men & boys stretching a fishing net – they will wade out into the ocean on one end in a circular motion and the rest will stretch it out on the beach. They are catching fish. If you are watching the entire scenario, one thing you will notice is the net is clean and mended before they cast it out. When they pull it in, along with the fish comes debris, shells, etc. 

Luke 5:1-11 – tells the story of Jesus calling the disciples, as they were busy doing their daily labor of catching fish. In Verse 2 we find they were preparing or mending their nets. Jesus wants our lives to be clean just as those fishing nets had to be clean. Isaiah 52:11 – be ye clean that bear the vessels of the lord. Tears and holes represent a spirit of division. Our nets must be mended before we can be effective fishers of men. 

Acts 2:1 – on the day of Pentecost the disciples were all in one accord. This paved the way for the Holy Ghost to be given. 

Romans 8:6-8 – division is carnality. People are turning their backs on God because of division among God’s people. We must mend our nets. 

A fisherman must also cast his net if he hopes to catch fish. Casting represents soul winning. Proverbs 11:30 – the fruit of the righteous is a tree of life and he that winneth souls is wise. 

James 5:20 – let him know that he which convereth the sinner from the error of his way, shall save a soul from death and shall hide a multitude of sins. Fishermen applied their trade daily. It was their living. Are we truly fishers of men on a daily basis?  

Then we must be sure we are casting on the right side. John 21:16 – and he said unto them, cast the net on the right side of the ship and ye shall find. They cast therefore and now they were not able to draw for the multitude of fish. This means doing it His Way, not ours.  

Lastly we must have the master on board. Christ must have control. The captain of the ship is in control of the vessel and the people. He knows how to fish, where to fish and where the hungry fish are. We must thrust out from shore. We must go where the people are. We must do more than just invite them to church. Many have a fear of water and want to stay on shore, but we must step out in faith and witness. 

We must not be afraid of failure. We have the formula for success. Jesus has given it to us. We must do it His way and it will work. 

Then we must launch out into the deep. In other words we must go beyond ourselves. We must go beyond our former efforts and our former thinking. Sometimes our way is broken and needs to be fixed. It won’t fix itself. Our thinking sometimes must change and that involves the Master to fix it. Launch out deeper. 

Luke 6-10 – Show that doing it God’s way will bring success. You will catch fish. That is the results we can expect when we do it God’s way and the purpose of the miracle will be that they too will follow the master. Verse 11 – they forsook all and followed him. It is what we have to do today to be successful fishers of men.  

Copyright 2003 by Rev. Betty J. Lester