An out-of-towner strolled up to them as they were winding up a long night’s work. Sweaty, tired, wanting to be home, but still having repair work to do so they could begin the next labor shift fully prepared, the out-of-towner seemed to poke them a bit. “And walking by the sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother…and He said to them, ‘Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Matthew 4:19
The next time He dropped by to chat, these two were again cleaning things up after a long night of work. And they were not in a very good mood (which seems like a rather standard timing thing when Jesus comes by to speak to us…). Anyway, Jesus took advantage of their idle fishing vessel and converted it into a platform and pulpit. He taught the crowds on the shore, a gathering that must have been a bit of a hindrance to these exhausted and frustrated commercial fishermen who had just worked a whole shift and had absolutely nothing to show for it. They were just trying to get things prepared for another go at it and they had all these people crowding around and the out-of-towner taking over their boat. And He said to Peter, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” Luke 5:4 Like they hadn’t already thought of that?!? They knew their business. They were well aware of the process of reward. Fishing was their gig! But with token protest, they did as instructed. And they almost lost the boat. In fact, they almost lost TWO boats! And Jesus said, “Do not fear, from now on you will be catching men.” Luke 5:10
So Andrew started fishing. Not for fish. He had had enough of that. He started casting his net for men!
- And the first one he snagged was his own brother. “He found first his own brother Simon and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah.’ He brought Him to Jesus…” John 1:41
- And then he found and brought a lad with a lunch, and led him to Jesus. “Andrew said to Him, ‘There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fishes’…” John 6:9
- And some out-of-town, Holy Week worshippers, who were seeking an audience with Jesus, were brought to the Christ by Andrew. “Now there were some Greeks among those…and they began to ask, ‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus.’ And Andrew and Philip came and told Jesus.” John 12:21
Caught anything lately? Reeled anyone into Jesus? Maybe the reason we have not succeeded at being “fishers of men” is that we are spending all our energy on just fixing our nets. Maybe cleaning things up, and putting things in order, and making preparations for a “someday” fishing expedition has detracted from the mission at hand. After all, the Master does know where the fish are. And the Master does equip us for success in the fishing. So why are we getting stiffed? Is it possible that we have simply stopped casting the net?
Who has He sent you to “catch”? Where has He placed you to do your fishing? What resources has He provided for you to do your fishing? When was the last time you actually cast out your net?
“Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men.” Cast YOUR net on the other side. If you never cast, you never catch!
“Each One Bring One: The Mission Andrew Principle!”
Blessings, Church!
Pastor Tom
p.s. This Sunday, Pastor Michael Krause will lead us into Titus 3:4-7 to celebrate the kindness of God our Savior for His saving mercy and grace!
pp.ss. Don’t forget Easter Sunday…10:00 a.m. “Mission Andrew: Each One Bring One!”
0 comments:
Post a Comment