Reel It In!
Today’s Verse:
And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. ~Matthew 4:19
There are three kinds of fishing. There is leisure fishing, which is done as a hobby and favorite pastime. There is sport fishing (which is typically ocean fishing), which is for more exotic catches such as marlin and swordfish. There is commercial fishing. which is necessary for local economies and is done as a livelihood. The common denominator about all three kinds of fishing is the catch. The purpose in fishing to make a catch. Those who do fishing as a pastime or sports fishing are concerned about making the catch with the line cast out. They patiently wait for a tug on hook and bait. When this tug occurs, they know a fish is on the other end and it is time to reel it in! Jesus calls us to be fishers of men, and His intention is that we master the art of “reeling them in!”
We see a sovereign SELECTION.
“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.” God calls each of us to be fishers of men. His summons is riveted. He saw Peter and Andrew and saw their potential as fishers of men. God sees all of us regardless of our talents and skills, and sees us making a difference in the lives of other people through the proclamation of the gospel. His summons is repeated. He continued further down the shoreline of the Sea of Galilee and saw James and John as well. Jesus did not stop at just two: He is constantly calling more fishermen. We must remember the harvest is plenteous, but the laborers are few.
We see the Savior’s STIPULATION.
“And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Jesus gives us a specific and narrow stipulation on His summons. First, we must follow Him by conviction. Do you have a conviction about being a soulwinner? Without this conviction, you will be more casual instead of concentrated about this matter. Second, we must follow Him with compassion. Jesus went after sinners with compassion. He loved people. His motto was, “The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Compassion is what makes a difference in being a fisher of men. Compassion is having a constant heartbeat for sinners to hear the gospel and be saved. We must follow Him with courage. We must have holy boldness to win souls. We can be easily intimidated by people of wealth, wit, and wickedness. Boldness enables us to witness to anyone under any circumstance. We must follow Him if we want to “reel it in.”
We see the surefire SUCCESS.
“I will make you fishers of men.” When we follow Him in His pattern, we are guaranteed success in winning souls. Faithful soulwinners never lack for a catch of the day! Faithful soulwinners can change fishing locations and always win souls. I have seen the Lord bless through my feeble efforts and have seen souls get saved in the Bay Area, Southern California, across the United States, the Philippines, China, South Korea, New Zealand, and other places. It’s never the location that is the difference: it is the Lord who makes the difference!
Yes, you can reel it in! You need to follow His leading, step out of your comfort zone, cast a lot of lines, and have faith in God to reel the catch in! There is an abundance of “fish” waiting for a surrendered “fisherman” to do God’s work in God’s way and reel them in!
Have a soulwinning God Morning!