Title: Fishers of Men / Matthew 13:47-50
Let's become fishers of people.
Now is the time to evangelize. No matter how urgent and serious there are in the world, there is nothing more urgent and serious than preaching the gospel. Tolstoy said in his folktales, "The most important time in life is now, the most important thing is what you are doing, and the most important person is the person you are meeting with." Paul said, “...behold, now is the acceptable time, and behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2), “Preach the word, in season and out of season, always be diligent; in all things long-suffering and teaching rebuke, rebuke, exhort” (2 Timothy 4:2).
Let's be fishers of people. The Lord began discipleship training for the work of salvation. When the Lord raised disciples, he found them in the field of life. As I walked through the Sea of Galilee, I carefully observed thousands of people. “As they were walking along the Sea of Galilee, they saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew, his brother, casting their nets into the sea, and they said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” So they immediately cast their nets. They left the boat and followed Jesus, and going further from there, when they saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, one with his father Zebedee, weaving nets in the boat, he called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed Jesus. ” (Matthew 4:18-22). Christianity is the religion of salvation that catches people's souls with the gospel. We must all become evangelists burning in the salvation movement.
First: Let's go to the beach, the field of evangelism.
There are various kinds of fish in the sea. Likewise, there are many different people in the world. Therefore, the church must preach the gospel to them. “Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19), “and he said, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16 :15) said. The gospel must be preached in various ways, and the church must be gathered by various groups. ① Men and women of all ages must come together to become one community. Mark's upper room is truly the most beautiful aspect of building up the church on earth (Acts 1:14). ② There should be no discrimination between the rich and the poor. All things were common and shared according to need (Acts 2:44-45). ③ Regardless of his position, he broke bread on one table under the teachings of the apostles (Acts 2:42).
In the sea, you have to be careful of storms. There can be storms in the sea at any time. “There was a great storm, and the waves crashed into the boat, and the boat was full” (Matthew 8:24). Likewise, the work of Satan is bound to happen in the spiritual preaching of the gospel. Therefore, in order to bind Satan's authority, we must always watch and pray. “Finally, be strengthened in the Lord and in the power of his might, and put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist the schemes of the devil” (Ephesians 6:10-11).
Second: Let us cast down the net of the Word.
A net is a tool for fishing. There are many lives on this earth. They live their lives with various nets. ① Entrepreneurs gather people with a net of money. Money does not bring true happiness in life. ② Politicians gather people through the net of power. But power doesn't last forever. ③ Scholars gather people with a web of knowledge. But the day will come when knowledge will also be destroyed. Everything the fallen life develops is partial (1 Corinthians 13:8-10). ④ Regenerated saints catch people with the gospel. The only net that can catch people's souls is the gospel. In order to catch those who are under the power of sin and death, there is only the Gospel of Jesus, the life of Jesus, and the cross of Jesus.
This is the net that appeared in the history of salvation. The external form of the net looks slightly different, but the essence is the same. ① In the days of Noah, the ark was a net. The ark was the cross of Jesus who saved us from the flood of sin. ② In the time of the Exodus, the Passover lamb was a net. The only way to escape God's wrath was the Passover lamb. ③ In the days of Canaan, it was a temple sacrifice. The sacrifice placed on the bronze altar was a symbol of the coming Messiah to atone for the sins of the people. ④ In the New Testament era, the cross of Jesus was a net. We are “fishers of men” called by the Lord in this age. “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18). The Way of the Cross transcends time and space and is an absolute and immutable truth.
Here are some things to keep in mind when lowering your nets. ① The torn part should be patched. When hatred grows in your heart, the net of the gospel is torn. Therefore, the net torn with envy and jealousy must be stitched with the needle of love. The church revives and grows in peace in the abundance of grace. Torn nets cannot trap meat. ② Rusted and rusted nets need to be replaced. The drachma out of the mistress's midday will rust under the eaves. If your talent is out of the Lord's circle, it will rust. Rusty nets become brittle and cannot trap meat by falling. ③ You need to shake off the dirty filth. Nets should always be cleaned and stored. When the walls of the church and the world are torn down, the saints become salt that has lost its taste. The life of the church is holiness and holiness.
Third: Let's pull it up and put the good things in a bowl.
Let's get the timing right when we raise the net. You may also miss the fish in the net. Likewise, we need to be very careful in leading the flock we have evangelized to the Lord's temple. ① The church must have these preparations. Let's prepare an appropriate message. It is even better if there is a worship department that seekers can give. For the Altar of Milal, the Sunday Ⅱ service and Wednesday Ⅰ part worship are relatively suitable. There must be spiritual fellowship, a beautiful meeting of saints. So, you need to maintain good relationships. This should be done in the district and in the evangelism. And there must be an open field of ministry where they can devote themselves. This requires the development of many appropriate spiritual programs. ② The leader is responsible for child rearing. Seedlings transplanted from the bed should be cared for with the heart of caring for them. Water so that the small roots fall down quickly. And you have to pull the weeds. You need to build a pole so you don't fall over. And they need to be properly nourished to make them grow quickly.
Let's raise good meat as a missionary. When a new believer is nurtured and realizes his calling, he can be used as a missionary. “Now the LORD who created you speaks, O Jacob, now speaks the one who formed you, Israel. Do not be afraid, I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are mine” (Isaiah 43:1). Only when we come to realize God's choice and God's calling can we have a heart to devote ourselves to God's work. Because he is convinced that he belongs to God.
What will be your end? Raising the net is the final judgment. The fate of the fish ends the moment the net comes ashore. “...the good things are put into the vessel, and the bad things are thrown away” (48). There is something to let go of and something to keep. The good meat is the chosen people of heaven, and the bad meat is the abandoned children of destruction. “It will be so at the end of the world,” he said, “and the angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous, and cast them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 13:49-50). God selected Achan from among the settlers of Canaan (Joshua 7:25-26). The Lord cursed Ananias and Sapphira, who deceived the Holy Spirit in the early church (Acts 5:3, 9). The Lord chose Judas Iscariot from among the twelve groups (Matthew 27:5). At the heart of this parable is the Lord's Last Judgment. I hope that you too will become a faithful evangelist for the gospel.
Dear saints,
Now is the time to evangelize. ꊱ Let's go to the beach where the scene is. The whole world is the object of the gospel that we must preach. ꊲ Let us cast down the net of the word. The message of the cross is the net we must lower. ꊳ Let's pull it up and put the good things in a bowl. Good meat is the master of heaven. I wish you a beautiful ending.