BEFDL 15 (from HGM on 19 April 22)

BIBLICAL ELEMENTS FOR DAILY LIVING-15

TEXT:   "Now as he walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. ¹⁷ And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.¹⁸ And straightway they forsook their nets, and followed him."  (Mark 1:16-18)

 I.   NET

      A.  The "nets" is whatever we may use to draw to ourselves the fulfillment and satisfaction that we seek.  Simon and Andrew were casting their nets to catch fish.  When Jesus came, He used words that they could easily understand.  He told them that is they would follow Him, He would make them a "fisher" of men.

     B.  Notice that Jesus did not say He would show them "how" to fish for men.  Rather, He said that He would "make" them to "become" fishers.The emphasis was not on methodology, but rather on the Lord's desire to draw them to Himself, in order to change them.

    C.  John shares this thought this way,

          "And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;¹⁰ And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth."  (Revelation 5:9-10) The emphasis is on our being made ready to reign, not on the fact of reigning.

       D.  Many place great emphasis on the program (net) that is used to accomplish a certain purpose, rather than seeking to develop the ability to rightly use the program.  We cannot give what we do not have.  Therefore, it is very important that we spend quality time in the presence of the Lord and develop a strong spiritual relationship with Him.

       E.  Only then will we "have" in order to "give."  In Acts we read,

            "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." (Acts 1:8)

The word "witnesses" can be translated many ways.  The most common is martyr, but another way is "sample."  Here the Lord is placing the emphasis on our becoming a "sample" of Himself.  Often, the emphasis has tended toward two extremes, either "asceticism" or "activity."

       F.  In the early church, there were those and so true today who became known as "Desert Fathers."  They considered the world to be so wicked that they went out into the desert and lived in caves so they could be separated and as a result become "spiritual."  I am not really sure of this word.

       G.  But Jesus said that we were not to hide our light under a bushel.  We are to be in the world, but the world is not to be in us.  Rather, our light is to shine before men.  WE are to become a "witness" of the life and ministry of Jesus by becoming a "sample" of Him, a piece of the real thing in the place of need.

       H.  In our becoming a "sample" of the presence and power of the Lord, there will be many occasions in which it will be easy to be otherwise.  Jesus said, "I will MAKE you to BECOME."  This is a processing of the Lord to prepare us to rightly respond in the situations.  Thus, those who are to rule are presently being prepared for this purpose.

       I.  As we allow the cross to become effective in our lives, and we die to our feelings and reactions, and allow Jesus to be seen through our lives, we will indeed begin to catch those lost, for Christ, in the world.  

       J.  The other extreme is "doing."  For to many, the Baptism in the Holy Spirit is considered to be "power for service."  These place the emphasis on going out to do witnessing, which can result in running without the message.  Our life needs to reflect the message for the world to see.  

    K.  Peter heard the word "fishing" and did not realize all that he was about to experience in being "processed" to become the witness the Lord intended.

    L.  When peter told the Lord that he would die for Him, Jesus responded that instead he would deny Him.  Peter reacted, but soon learned differently.  We tend to promise the Lord many things, which we are incapable of doing.  But the Lord has provided a way for us to go beyond these cycles of failure "follow Me and I will make you to become."

 II.  PARTING THOUGHTS

      A.  It has been said that no one can "get our goat" unless we have one to get.  We cannot be offended is there is no offense in us.  As a child I remember how kids would tease and pick on certain children.  Now I see that these were being picked on because they reacted to an offense.  The greater the reaction, the more they were picked on, as other kids enjoyed the reaction. 

      B.  In effect, Acts 1:8 reads, "you will receive power . . . to become."  The desire of the Lord is to so change us that only His life is to be seen.  Therefore, all we need to do is to say, Lord, I am available and willing to receive."

      C.  Only then will we become the "message" that people will respond to; our lives so changed by the power of God, that His presence and blessings are evident.