In my last blog I made a reference to what the nation needs to do, to help people who are in desperate need.  I know there are people all over the world that do not know what is happening and why it is happening to them.  In the past few weeks we have seen devastating earthquakes that have killed way too many people.  But, yet these earthquakes do not surprise me, Jesus said in the last days these would occur (Mat 24:7).  So I expect more to occur and for them to be even stronger than before.  I do not mean to imply this to be a prophecy of an impending doom, I just believe the Bible and the words of Jesus.  Jesus called this the beginning of sorrows in time of the end.

Mat 4:19  And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.

Jesus makes a demand on us.  If you do not take it personally you are not a disciple of Christ.   Jesus gives us a very specific instruction in this verse and it starts by following Jesus.  To follow Jesus means to observe his movement, his words, his actions, his ways, his purpose,  and then for you to imitate them to the best of your ability.  Since Jesus is not here in the flesh any more the only way we can do what he said to do is by reading and studying His Word.  Only by learning what Jesus did and how he did it, can we then begin to follow in his footsteps.  So the journey begins with learning about Jesus.  Jesus is our example and our leader.  We follow His direction by learning about Him in His Word and by hearing the Spirit of God that is within us.  The Word and the Spirit will always agree.

Then Jesus gives us the goal for this following of His ways.  There is a specific purpose and plan given to us and a reason that we are now a Christian.   This reason is of course to help others see the truth of God’s love toward man.  In other verses of the Bible Jesus said we are the “light” of the world.  He implies that you do not hide a candle under your bed, you put it out where it helps others to see where they are going.  Jesus told us if we follow him, He will make us “fishers” of men.  That immediately tells you one of the major reasons why Jesus came to the earth, to be an example fisherman.  A “fisherman” is an occupation.  It is something men and women do to make a living and pay their bills.  It is also “work” and that is a four letter word to many.  “Work” implies an extended effort and a toilsome endeavor.  In fact here is a definition of the word:

WORK: a sustained physical or mental effort to overcome obstacles and achieve an objective or result

We can see that there are implied obstacles and certainly physical and mental effort on our part involved in being a “fisher” of men.  We can also see there is a goal and a prize for doing this.  You can call it a reward or a payment, but nonetheless it is the end result of good work and it should always be a positive.  We are to be fishers of men.  Learning the techniques and using the tools that Jesus taught us to use.  By following Christ’s example we can become more like Him and achieve the same results.

I can already tell that this post will probably not be too popular.  People do not want to know or hear about their responsibilities.  People are generally too focused on themselves and think that it is the preacher’s responsibility to get everyone saved.  It’s too bad that is not what Jesus said, is it?