Members of the ward council quickly embraced the changes, and a spirit of love and unity settled on them as they focused on strengthening individuals and families. In every meeting, they spoke at length about investigators, new converts, less-active members, and members with needs. Their hearts began to be drawn out to these brothers and sisters, and miracles began to happen. The bishop reported that almost immediately after these changes were made to the ward council, previously unknown less-active members began to attend church.
These members said they suddenly felt moved upon to return to the Church. They said they had received a clear and compelling impression that they needed to once again associate with the Saints. They knew they would be loved and that they needed the support members would offer. The bishop shared with me that he is certain Heavenly Father was just waiting for him to follow the counsel he had received and organize the ward council as instructed before He could put the desire into the hearts and minds of these less-active members to return to activity in the Church.
The bishop realized that he needed to create the loving, nurturing environment these members needed before the Spirit would lead them back. His words remind me of the experience of Peter the fisherman:.
And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship. June My Lesson in Love Janice Tate. The Hummingbird Rescue William Hoggan. Saving Christopher Karen Anderson. And why were they casting a net? Because they were 'catchers of fish '. In essence, he was saying, "Instead of catching fish, I will teach you how to catch men. After the large catch they made, Jesus tells them, "from now on you will catch men.
This is basic evangelism, to make disciples of all men Matthew , immersing them and teaching them to obey all that Jesus taught. But we also see a relationship with preaching the good news and using a net. A fishing pole catches one fish at a time and if it is not good, you throw it back. A net catches many fish at a time, you keep the good ones and throw back the bad ones. See in Mark and Luke where Jesus is again teaching about the Kingdom at the lake uses the parable of the farmer broadcasting his seeds.
Some land on various soils but the farmer does not care. In the end he gathers the harvest from the seeds that grew to maturity.
So being a fisher-of-men is about broadcasting the good news to many people about the Kingdom and through discernment of the Spirit, gather in the good ones to make disciples of them, teaching them to obey all that Jesus commanded while letting the bad ones go.
It is not about trying with one and if it does or does not work, move on to another. Do not drop a line with bait.
Instead cast a net and see what you pull in. The Holy Spirit who captures a man's heart is the net. And the boat is the Kingdom of heaven in which you are trying to get men into. Second, each verse states the purpose of the calling — it is to become fishers of men.
The wording may be a little different, such as The Message translation, but the purpose is still there. Jesus has stated what the disciples must do and why they must do it. Third, we see what the disciples, and now us, are going to do.
Jesus says they are going to fish for men. The Message translation says they are to catch men and women and the NIV uses the word people. For some readers, it will only enhance the meaning of the Scripture.
After first glance we may wonder what Jesus was talking about when he tells Simon and Andrew that they will become fishers of men. For these men, who were lifetime fishermen, this was the perfect analogy. The region they lived and worked in was a fishing village. Most likely, they had a legacy of fishing in their families. For this reason, they would have understood fishing and the catch. What was probably more titillating, was the notion of fishing for men. At first, they must have thought this was a bit crazy.
My belief is that Jesus was smart enough to use what these ordinary men would have known to share His reason for being on Earth.
He would not have asked them theological questions, because they would not have understood. They were fishermen, not Jewish leaders or teachers of the law. Jesus used language that they would easily relate to.
In Scripture , we will not find this phrase anywhere else except for Matthew Matthew is speaking of the same event as Mark, the calling of Simon and Andrew. In the Old Testament, we do not find as many mentions of fishing as we do in the New Testament. This is likely because we are in different regions of the world during the time of the Old Testament. During the physical life of Christ, we are in the regions of Jerusalem and Galilee where fishing was more prevalent.
Becoming a fisher of men is not something assigned to just Simon and Andrew. It is a holy assignment by our Lord. Since all of us are not fishermen, it may be difficult to understand how we can do this. They were men who spent their nights on the water to bring in a big catch in the morning. It was not just their occupation — it was their life.
They worked on the water and then mended nets on the shores. He held the first outdoor crusade. As he got to the end of his message here is what Peter did.
The word pleaded can also mean invited. What he was doing was asking, even begging, the people to make a response to the message of the gospel. You should always remember that whenever you share the gospel with someone. It is not complete until you ask the person to make a decision. Remember you are not responsible for the outcome, but you are responsible for asking the question.
When you do this you are understanding how Christians can be fishers of men. I hope you got all my fishing analogies as you read this. I think I did ok. My fishing advice will probably not help you catch any more fish in the lake or the ocean but hopefully, it will help you become a better fisher of men. God, help us. Help us to fish for men, we pray. You say right here, Jesus, that when we follow You, You will make us fishers of men. So we ask You today, make us fishers of men.
Help us to look for people to be intentional, and working for other people to come to know Christ. Help us to pray toward that end. Help us to share the gospel toward that end. Lord, help us to share the good news of what You've done in Christ with somebody else today. Lord, don't let us, we pray, don't let us go through our lives, as your followers, not fishing for men. Not doing what You have clearly called us to do, commissioned us, set us apart to do.
Make us fishers of men, we pray. And we pray the fruit of our lives will be many other people. God, may it be so in each of our lives. May there be many people who are following Christ, because we have been intentional to fish for men.
In Jesus' name we pray. Clarence L. Haynes Jr.
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