Jesus Makes Fishers Of Men!

Mathew 4:18-22 says, " And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And He saith unto them, Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed Him. And going on from thence, He saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He called them. And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed Him."

.....When Christ began to preach, He began to gather disciples, who should now be the hearers, and hereafter the preachers, of his doctrine, witnessing His miracles, and afterwords, share their understanding and thoughts concerning them.

From this passage of scriptures, let us note a few things.

.....The effectual calling to Christ. In all His preaching He gave a common call to all the world, but in this He gave a special and particular call to those that were given Him by the Father. Let us see and admire the power of Christ's grace, His own word to be the rod of His strength, and wait upon Him for those powerful influences which are necessary to the empowerment of the gospel call--those distinguishing influences. All of us in the world are called today, but we who are in Christ today, answered the call, and are now chosen, being redeemed from among them that are still in the world. Christ should manifest in our lives, showing Himself to those still in the world, revealing God's truth, attracting others to become an heir in His Kingdom, receiving His Salvation.

.....The instance of ordination, and appointment to the work of the ministry. When Christ, as a Teacher, set up His great school, becoming the center of our own lives, one of His first works is to appoint us, like He did back then, to be employed in the work of His Ministry. Now He began to give gifts unto men, to put the treasure into earthen vessels. This was an early instance of His care for the church.

Now we may observe some things here.

.....Where they were called- by the sea of Galilee, where Jesus was walking, Here, on the banks of the sea, Christ was walking for contemplation when He went to call His disciples; surely Christ sees not as man sees. For with God nothing is impossible. This shows that God had chosen the poor of this world. Galilee was a remote part of the nation, the inhabitants were less cultivated and refined, their very language was broad and uncouth to the educated and distinguished in society. They who were picked up at the sea of Galilee, where those had not the advantages and improvements, not of the more polished Galileans; yet Christ went, to call His apostles that were to be the Prime Ministers, and Ambassadors in His kingdom, for He chooses the foolish things of this world, to confound the wise.

.....Who they were. We have an account of the call of two pair of brothers in these verses. Peter and Andrew, James and John; the two former, and, probably, the two latter also, had an acquaintance with Christ before, but were not till now called into a close and constant relationship with Him. Note, Christ brings poor souls by degrees into fellowship with Himself. They had been disciples of John, and so were the better disposed to follow Christ. Those who have submitted to the discipline of repentance, shall be welcome to the joys of faith.

Let us observe some things concerning them.

.....They were brothers. It is a blessed thing, when families are brought together into a spiritual alliance, and in unity to Jesus Christ. It is the honor and comfort of a house, when those that are of the same family, are of God's family, praising, worshiping and serving Him together as one.

.....They were fishermen. Being fishermen, they were poor men: if they had had estates, or any considerable stock in trade, they would not have made fishing their trade, however, they might have made it their recreation. Christ does not despise the poor, and therefore we must not; the poor are to be evangelized.

.....They were unlearned men. Not bred up to books or literature as Moses was, who was conversant with all the learning of the Egyptians. Christ sometimes chooses to endow those with the gifts of grace who have least to show of the gifts of nature. Yet this will not justify the bold intrusion of ignorant and unqualified men into the work of the ministry: extraordinary gifts of knowledge and utterance are not now to be expected, but requisite abilities must be obtained in an ordinary way, and without a competent measure of these, none are to be admitted to that service.

.....They were men of business. They who had been bred up to labor, and not afraid of hard work. Note, Diligence in an honest calling is pleasing to Christ, and no hindrance to a holy life. Moses was called from keeping sheep, and David from following the ewes, to eminent employments. Idle people lie more open to the temptations of Satan than to the calls of God.

.....They were men that were accustomed to hardships and hazards. The fisher's trade, more than any other,was and still is laborious and perilous; fishermen must be often wet and cold; they must watch, and wait, and toil, and be often in perils by waters. Those who have learned to bear hardships, and run hazards, are best prepared for the fellowship and discipleship of Jesus Christ. Good soldiers of Christ must endure hardness.

.....What they were doing. Peter and Andrew were then using their nets, they were fishing; and James and John were mending their nets, which was an instance of their industry. They did not go to their father for money to buy new nets, but took pains to mend their old ones. It is commendable to make what we have go as far, and last as long, as may be. James and John were with their father Zebedee, ready to assist him, and make his business easy to him. It is a happy and hopeful presage, to see children careful of their parents, and dutiful to them.

.....They were all employed, all very busy, and none idle. When Christ comes, it is good to be found doing. "Am I in Christ?" is a very needful question for us to ask ourselves; and, next to that, "Am I in my calling?" They were differently employed; two of them were fishing, and two of them mending their nets. Ministers should be always employed, either in teaching or studying; they may always find themselves something to do, if it be not their own fault; and mending their nets, is, in its season, as necessary work as fishing.

.....The call was "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." They had followed Christ before, as ordinary disciples, but so they might follow Christ, and follow their calling too; therefore they were called to a more close and constant attendance, and must leave their calling. All of us who had been called to follow Christ, have to follow on, and to follow nearer, especially when they are fulfill God's plans and the work of the ministry.

.....What Christ intended them. I will make you fishers of men; this alludes to their former calling. Let them be not proud of the new honor designed them, they are still but fishermen; let them not be afraid of the new work cut out for them, for they have been accustom to fishing,which was one of their natural strengths and gifts, and fishermen they were still. Ministers are fishers of men, not to destroy them, but to save them, by bringing them into another element. They must fish, not for wrath, wealth, honor, and preferment, to gain them to themselves, but for souls, to gain them to Christ. It is Jesus Christ that makes them so; I will make you fishers of men. It is He that qualifies men for this work, calls them to it, authorizes them in it, gives them commission to fish today, and wisdom to win them. We as ministers are likely to have comfort in our work, and have thus been made by Jesus Christ.

.....What they must do in order to this; Follow me. They must separate themselves to a diligent attendance on him, and set themselves to a humble imitation of Him, and must follow Him as their Leader.

Those whom Christ employs in any service for him, must first be fitted and qualified for it.

Those who would preach Christ, must first learn Christ, and learn of him. How can we expect to bring others to the knowledge of Christ, if we do not know him well ourselves?

Those who would get an acquaintance with Christ, must be diligent and constant in their attendance on him. The apostles were prepared for their work, by accompanying Christ all the time that He went in and out among them. There is no learning comparable to that which is gotten by following Christ.

Those who are to fish for men, must follow Christ, and do it as He did, with diligence, faithfulness, and tenderness. Christ is the great pattern for preachers, and they ought to be workers together with Him.

.....What was the success of this call. Peter and Andrew straightway left their nets, while James and John immediately left the ship and their father, and they all followed him. Those who would follow Christ today, must be ready and willing to leave all to follow him. Every Christian must leave all in affection, setting loose to all that is in this world, parting with his own interests, focusing his interest in Jesus Christ. Those who are devoted to the work of the ministry are, in a special manner, concerned to disentangle themselves from all the affairs of this life, that they may give themselves wholly to that work which requires the whole man.

.....The bottom line was the obedience of the disciples, and is for us today, to answer the calling of Christ. It is pure joy for our Heavenly Father when Christ's faithful servants come when they are called, and follow their Master wherever He leads them. The disciples objected not their present employments, their engagements to their families, the difficulties of the service they were called to, or their own unfitness for it; but, being called, they obeyed, and, like Abraham, who went out not knowing where they went, but knowing very well whom they followed. James and John left their father: it is not said what became of him; their mother Salome was a constant follower of Christ; no doubt, their father Zebedee was also a believer, but the call to follow Christ fastened on the young ones. Youth would always be the most opportunistic time for anyone to answer one's calling, because it is the learning age, and the laboring age, allowing people to minister in the prime of their lives, but it is definitely not a requirement. God can use anybody, at any age, but He always looks for willingness, and allows the choice to be ours.

Gideon - Great Warrior! (Part 1)

Part 1

.....There are many great men spoken about in the Bible, but there is only one that God called a "Great Warrior," and that was Gideon. Let's find out why through the study of Judges 6: 1-35.

.....We begin our study with the children of Israel who find themselves in bondage again, impoverished, and distraught, for 7 years, needing deliverance, because of their Idolatry, which was considered evil in the sight of the Lord. They had forgotten that the Lord had delivered them out of the hand of all who had oppressed them. And so in their misery, they cried out to the Lord, who had heard their cry and answered their plea, calling, commissioning, and empowering Gideon, through an Angel of the Lord, to take upon himself, the command of their forces against the Midianites, (which means Strife, or a brawling and contentious people), and the Amalekites, (which means Sorrowful and Wicked). Guideon's father was now living, but he was passed by, and this honor was put upon the son, for the father kept up in his own family the worship of Baal (v. 25), which we may suppose this son, as far as was in his power, witnessed against. He was of the half tribe of Manasseh, (which means Causing to Forget) that lay in Canaan, (which means Lowland, to be brought into subjection, or humble). The Angel of the Lord that gave him the commission said, "I will be with thee." This divine messenger appeared here to Gideon, who considered himself the lowest of the low, yet was the perfect choice by God for this mission. But Why?

(1.) He was retired—all alone. God often manifests Himself to His people when they are out of the noise and hurry of this world. Silence and solitude befriend our communion with God.

(2.) He was employed in threshing wheat, with a staff or rod (so the word signifies), such as they used in beating out fitches and cummin (Isa. 28:27), but now used for wheat, probably because he had but little to thresh, he needed not the oxen to tread it out. It was not then looked upon as any diminution to him, though he was a person of some account and a mighty man of valour, to lay his hand to the business of the husbandman. He had many servants (v. 27), and yet would not himself live in idleness. We put ourselves in the way of divine visits when we employ ourselves in honest business.

(3.) He was distressed; he was threshing his wheat, not in the threshing-floor, the proper place, but by the wine-press, in some private unsuspected corner, for fear of the Midianites. He himself shared in the common calamity, and now the Angel came to him against Midian when he himself could speak so feelingly of the heaviness of their yoke. The day of the greatest distress is God’s time to appear for His people’s relief.

.....Let us now see what passed between the Angel and Gideon, who considered himself the lowest of the low, and knew not with certainty, till after He was gone, that He was an Angel, but supposed He was a prophet.

.....The Angel appeared to him with respect, and assured him of the presence of God with him, (v. 12). He calls him a mighty man of valour, perhaps because he observed how he threshed his wheat with all his might; a man diligent in his business. Gideon was a man of a brave active spirit, and yet buried alive in obscurity, through the iniquity of the times; yet here in his presence is this Angel, or Messenger of God, empowering him to undertake something great.

.....By this word, the Angel gives him his commission. If we have God’s presence with us, this will justify us and bear us out in our undertakings. He then inspires him with all necessary qualifications for the execution of his commission. "The Lord is with thee to guide and strengthen thee, and support thee.’’ And last, He assures him of success; for, if God be for us, who can prevail against us? If He be with us, nothing can be wanting to us. The presence of God with us is all in all to our prosperity, and in whatever we do.

.....Gideon was a mighty man of valour, and yet he could bring nothing to pass without the presence of God, and that presence is enough to make any man mighty in valour, and to give a man courage at any time. Gideon questioned God by saying, "O my Lord! if the Lord be with us, why then has all this befallen us? " All this trouble and distress from the Midianites’ incursions, which force me to thresh wheat here by the wine-press—all this loss, and grief, and fright; and "where are all the miracles which our fathers told us of?"

.....Gideon, as if not conscious to himself of any thing great or encouraging in his own spirit, fastens only on the assurance the Angel had given him of God’s presence, opening up the way to put the plans and desires of God into execution.

.....More questions are raised by Gideon concerning the delay of their deliverance: "Where are all the miracles which our fathers told us of? Why does not the same power which delivered our fathers from the yoke of the Egyptians deliver us out of the hands of the Midianites?’’ As if because God did not immediately work miracles for their deliverance, though they had by their own sins forfeited His favour and help, Gideon questioned whether God had wrought the miracles which their fathers told them of, or whether He had now the same wisdom, power, and good-will toward His people, that He had had formerly. This was the people's weakness. Forgetting what God has done.

We must not expect that the miracles which were wrought when the Church was first formed in the New Testament to continue to the same degree, when we as the Body of Christ have not kept close to Him, having revolted through our own religious traditions, losing our focus of the completed, and finished work of the Cross and Christ.

Gideon finds himself in the same spot that many of us who are called and chosen by God today.

.....He desires to have his faith confirmed concerning this commission; so he fleeces God to satisfy himself of his authority, and would be able to give satisfaction to others as to Him who gave him that authority. He therefore humbly begs of this Angel, to give him a sign, (v. 17). And, the commission is then confirmed by some act of God out of the common course of nature. "Show me a sign to assure me of the truth of this concerning which thou talkest with me, that it is something more than talk, and that thou art in earnest.’’ Now, under the dispensation of the Spirit, we are not to expect signs before our eyes, such as Gideon here desired, but must earnestly pray to God that, if we have found grace in His sight, He would show us a sign in our heart, by the powerful operations of His Spirit there, fulfilling the work of faith, and perfecting what is lacking in it. But the Angel accepted the request, and so gave him a further and longer opportunity of conversation with Him, (v. 18). Those who know what it is to have communion with God desire the continuance of it.

.....Gideon desired in courting the Angel to stay, that he might bring out some provision of meat for Him. He did not take Him into the house to entertain Him there, because he desired still to be in private and to converse with Him alone, (therefore he calls not for a servant to bring the provision, but fetches it himself). Upon the Angel’s promise to stay and dine with him, he hastened to bring out a kid, which, it is likely, was already boiled for his own dinner, so that in making it ready he had nothing to do but to put it in the basket and the broth in a vessel, and so he presented it, (v. 19). Establishing a Covenant. His present, a meat offering. For what we offer to God for His glory, and in token of our gratitude to Him, will be made by the grace of God to turn to our own comfort and satisfaction.

.....The Angel ordered him to take the flesh and bread out of the basket, and lay it upon a hard and cold rock, and to pour out the broth upon it, (A Perfect Picture of the Body and Blood of Christ), for which the Angel used the meat as an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto God, showing hereby that He was not a man who needed meat, but the Son of God who was to be served and honoured by sacrifice, and who in the fullness of time was to make Himself a sacrifice. Christ. He brought fire out of the rock, to consume this sacrifice, summoning it, not by striking the rock, as we strike fire out of a flint, but by a gentle touch given to the offering with the end of His staff, (v. 21). Hereby giving Gideon a sign that he had found grace in His sight, for God testified His acceptance of sacrifices by kindling them, in public, with fire from heaven, as with Moses and Elijah, in private, as this, with fire out of the earth, which was equivalent: both were the effect of divine power; and this acceptance of his sacrifice evidenced the acceptance of his person, confirmed his commission, and perhaps was intended to signify his success in the execution of it, that he and his army should be a surprising terror and consumption to the Midianites, like this fire out of the rock.

.....The Angel then departed out of his sight immediately, did not walk off as a man, but vanished and disappeared as a Spirit. Here was as much of a sign as he could wish. Gideon, though no doubt he was confirmed in his faith by the indications given of the divinity of the person who had spoken to him, yet for the present was put into a great fright by it, till God graciously pacified him and removed his fears, by speaking to him, (v. 23). It might have been fatal to him, but He assures him it is not. The Lord had then departed out of his sight, (v. 21). Gideon could no longer walk by sight, he now had to live by faith, that faith which comes by hearing; for the Lord said to him, "Peace be unto thee, all is well, and be thou satisfied that it is so. Fear not; He that came to employ thee did not intend to slay thee; (But to Empower Thee), thou shalt not die.’’

God is always ready to revive the hearts of those that tremble at His word and presence, and to give those that stand in awe of His majesty, the assurance of His mercy, and grace, empowering them for their calling!

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