Called by Christ

Matthew 4:12-25

When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he returned to Galilee.  Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali – to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah:

“Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, along the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles –

The people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.”

From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”

As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew.  They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen.  “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.”  At once they left their nets and followed him.

Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and his brother John.  They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets.  Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.  News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them.  Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across Jordan followed him.

Do we have anybody who fishes in the crowd?  Has anybody been fishing this weekend?  I’m not into fishing, but I imagine there are a few here today who love fishing.  I like to eat fish, but I never grew up fishing.  My grandpa and dad didn’t fish so as kids we only went fishing once or twice.  In fact I think that last time I was fishing was in 1999 when I was in Japan.  It was a stream or pond stocked with fish, so they were real easy to catch.  A friend and I caught a lot of fish and then cooked them over coals.

It’s not a very exciting fishing story.  I don’t have any fish “this big” that got away.  It usually seems that fisherman have stories about fishing fanatics.  Pastor Markquart of Seattle talks about his Uncle Clarence who was a fishing fanatic.  At a family reunion Clarence brought out picture of crappies from his wallet to show his nephew.  He was proud of all the fish that he had caught.  Then Pastor Markquart asked to see a picture of his wife; he didn’t have one.  He asked about his children; he didn’t have one.  Then asked about his grandchildren; he didn’t have one.  But he did have a ton of pictures of the fish that he had caught.  He was a little embarrassed about not having any pictures of his family, but he was extremely proud of those pictures of his fish.

Today’s story is a fishing story of another sort.  One day, Jesus was preaching near the lake, up on the north end, near the town of Capernaum.  That was Peter’s home village, where he had all his fishing boats.  Peter was fishing and Jesus was preaching up there.  One day, Jesus said, “Simon Peter, I want to use your boat to get away from the shore a little bit, so I can speak to the crowds from the boat.”  Peter said, “Alright.”  They got into Peter’s boat, rowed out a bit, set the anchor, and Jesus started to preach.  After he finished his preaching Jesus said to Peter, “Let’s go fishing.”  Peter said, “you’ve got to be a little crazy, Jesus or you don’t know anything about fishing.  We’re tired, plus we’ve been fishing all night and haven’t caught a thing.  Now it’s daylight, you don’t catch lots of fish in the daytime.  But because you insist we’ll go fishing.

So they put up the sail and went out a bit into the lake.  They got to the spot and then dropped the nets.  They sat around for a little bit probably telling fishing stories or talking about Jesus’ sermon.  Peter was probably thinking that Jesus wasn’t much of a fisherman, but was too polite to say anything.  Finally Jesus said, “It’s time to pull in the nets.”  Peter started to pull in the nets, but they were so full of fish that the weight of them almost started to sink the boat.  His cousins noticed and came to the rescue. 

Peter realized that he was in the middle of a miracle.  You just don’t catch fish like that in the middle of the day.  In fact it was more fish that he had ever caught in one haul.  Peter’s brain woke up and he said to Jesus, “I’m sorry, I’m just a sinner.  I didn’t know any better.”  Jesus said to him, “That’s ok Peter.  I understand.  But I am choosing you to fish for people.  You’re good at fishing for fish, but now I want to fish for people.  I am going to teach you how to catch nets filled with people.

When they got to shore, Peter dropped his nets and followed Christ.  They walked down to the beach and there were two of Peter’s friends, James and John.  Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will teach you how to fish for people.”  They too dropped their nets and followed Jesus immediately.”

Fishing is a big part to the Church.  We know that the mission of the church is to fish for other people – for us to be used by God to catch people for Jesus Christ.  The symbol of the church or Christians is a fish.  From time to time you’ll see it on the bumper of a car.  In the Greek language, fish is ICTHUS.  If you take the first letters of “Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior, you get the Greek word, ICTHUS, which means fish.  Seeing the fish reminds us that we’ve been called to be fishermen and fisherwomen.  We are to be taught to fish for people.  It is one of the central missions of the church.

Starting this week we’re going to learn about what it is to be a follower of Jesus Christ.  If we claim that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior then what does that mean.  What does it entail to be a disciple of Jesus?  We’re going to be spending the next few months looking at the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus spoke to and taught his disciples.  I believe that looking at this and studying it will give us a good idea of what it is to be a disciple and it will better prepare us to fish.

Peter, Andrew, James, and John turned from catching fish for a living to fishing for men and women for God.  I don’t know a lot about fishing, but I figured that I’d better keep with the analogy.  So we’ll see how the principles for good fishing are the same principles involved for good evangelism or fishing for Christ.

So what are the marks of a good fisherman? 

1. You’ve got to love fishing.  It doesn’t matter if it sunny and warm or if it’s windy, raining, and cold.
2. You’ve got to be dedicated to it.  You have to be willing to get up at 3:00 AM.  That’s when the fish can be caught.
3. A good fisherman is experienced.  If you fish a lot, you’ve learned from someone else.  It’s rare for someone to suddenly take up fishing without learning from someone first.  Someone taught them whether it was their father or grandfather.
4. A good fisherman knows fish.  You know what and where they are biting.  You know where the good holes are, at what depth to catch them.
5. A good fisherman is patient.  You have to sit a long time waiting trying different lures and baits and speeds and holes.

Those are five marks of a good fisherman.

Jesus told Peter, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”  If you are a follower of Christ, Christ teaches you many things too.  He teaches us how to love, how to forgive, how to pray.  But Christ also teaches us how to fish for people.  Peter had to learn a new skill.  In order to learn a new skill we need to learn from others.

So what are the marks and characteristics of a good fishers for people?

1. The first is attitude.  You need to have the right attitude in order to be an effective fisher of people.  It is an infection attitude, a contagious attitude, a positive attitude.  It is an attitude of love for Christ, the things of Christ, the ways of Christ, the people of Christ, the church of Christ.  They love being with other Christians, spending time with God.  It is an attitude of enthusiasm.
2. The second is that it doesn’t take fancy equipment.  You don’t have to have gone to seminary or Bible school.  You don’t need to have a fancy Bible study series.  A wealth of Biblical knowledge, knowing all 613 Laws of Moses won’t make you a good fisher of people.  The best equipment for fishing for people is having a love for God and a love for people.
3. The third quality is knowing where the fish are and what they are biting on.  If we know where people are hurting then we are able to meet their needs.  There are times when people are more hungry for Christ, spirituality and spiritual values.  It means that we are ready to have conversations with people when the opportunity arises.
4. Another mark is setting the hook.  In fishing there is an art to setting the hook, pull the bait too soon and you’ll lose the fish or wait too long and the bait is gone and so is the fish.  Setting the hook means being specific.  Don’t just ask “Do you want to go to church with me sometime?”  Ask, “Would you go to church with me tomorrow or this Sunday.”  It’s not just asking “How are you?”, but if you know someone is experiencing difficulties with their marriage – “How are things between you and your spouse?  How can I pray for you?”

Hopefully right now you aren’t thinking, “I don’t like fishing, in fact I hate fishing.”  John Jewell delivered a sermon on this and afterwards a mother of four came up to him and said, “I hate fishing and I don’t have a lot of time available to go out and be with others.  Does Christ have any place for a harried mother of four children?”

He came to the conclusion that the principle in this is not “Help wanted, Fisherman only!”  The point is that we’ve been called to ask what we can give, what we can bring, to the mission of God to united all people under the kingdom that Christ declared was at hand.  We are called to use our talents and skills for others.  The carpenter’s invitation reads, “Follow me and I will make you build people.”  The accountant will hear, “Follow me and I will help you make people know they count.”  The food server will hear, “Follow me and I will make you serve the spiritual hunger of people.”  A busy mother’s call is, “Follow me, and I will make you builder of children.” 

You were meant to be a part of God’s divine plan to bring light, hope and meaning to a dark world.  You can do this where you are.  In fact, Christ needs you where you are.  Fishermen will reach the fishermen.  Teachers will reach the teachers.  Truck drivers will reach the truck drivers.  Moms and Dads will reach the kids.

The fact that we’ve been called by Christ is a wonderful thing.  He doesn’t just tell us, “Go out there and do the best that you can.”  We have the Bible which is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness so that we’ll be thoroughly equipped and prepared.