Christ’s Ministry Passed On to Ordinary Men

Transcript

GR 419
11/1/1981
Christ’s Ministry Passed on to Ordinary Men
JOHN 21:1-14
Gil Rugh

John chapter 21 in your Bibles. John's gospel and the 21st chapter. Chapter 21 of John brings us to the conclusion of the Book of John, and it really forms the epilogue to the book. In chapter 1 of John's gospel, the first eighteen verses formed a prologue to the book, a presentation of certain basic material which was developed through the remainder of what is recorded about the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. They are focusing on the person of Christ, who He is, what He does. He is the embodiment of light and life. In Him grace and truth realized their fullness, and the completeness of the manifestation of God's character is seen in the person of Jesus Christ.

As we come to chapter 21, John now draws the book to a close, and brings to a head his purpose, God's purpose, in His Son, Jesus Christ. What is to be realized now in and through those who have come to believe in His Son, Jesus Christ. The ministry that is given to those of us who believe in Him.

The flow is quite smooth as you come into chapter 21, because it picks up with another appearance of Christ to His disciples. This is the longest account of any of the post-resurrection appearances of Christ that we have recorded. The chapter opens up simply "After these things..." And it is a rather indefinite timeline. We're not told whether it was three days later or five days later or just how long. The setting has changed. We have moved from Jerusalem to Galilee. The disciples have returned to Galilee. Verse 1 says, "After these things Jesus manifested Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias.." The Sea of Tiberias is another name for the Sea of Galilee. So we are back in Galilee. The disciples are at the Sea of Galilee, back home, so to speak. This may be a result of the command given by Christ, back in Matthew chapter 28.

Matthew chapter 28. The angel tells the women at the tomb, in verse 7, Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold,He is going before you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you." Also down in verse 16, "But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated." The further clarification of the instructions that not only in Galilee but a designated mountain.

When we come to chapter 21 of John, the disciples have returned to Galilee and to the Sea of Tiberias. The ones who are here are listed in verse 2. Only seven of the disciples are present for this revelation of Christ. Simon Peter, Thomas, Nathanael, the two sons of Zebedee, and two unnamed disciples. It's interesting, Simon Peter is here. We noted Simon back in chapter 21, and the encouragement now as the Lord has been resurrected. Simon has been restored. Peter again, you see his leadership being asserted very clearly in the section we'll be looking at in a few moments. Thomas, called Didymus. Thomas the Twin. We saw him at the end of chapter 20, the one who is given the title "Doubting Thomas." Here he is now with the disciples at Galilee. Nathanael, the other place we have him mentioned is all the way back in chapter 1 of the Gospel of John. Jesus had some good things to say about Nathanael, and in chapter 1, verse 45, "Philip found Nathanael, and said to him, 'We have found Him, of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.' And Nathanael said to him, 'Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?' Philip said to him, 'Come and see.' Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and said of him, 'Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!' Nathanael said to Him, 'How do You know me?' Jesus answered and said to him, 'Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.' Nathanael answered Him, 'Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel.'" So a man of great character, a man in whom is no guile. A man who does not come to the fore in the ministry of the disciples. We have no material revealed on the part that he played, other than the general information given about the disciples' ministry. But a man that Christ commended highly.

The sons of Zebedee. I take it this would include John, the writer of the Gospel of John. Back in Matthew chapter 4 and verse 21, "Going on from there He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He called them."
So the two sons of Zebedee are James and John. They are present in John chapter 21. John being the John who authored this gospel. Then two other disciples who are unnamed. Various ones are suggested, but they are not named, so they are just present. Seven all together are together.

Verse 3, Simon Peter, as you might expect, takes the leadership. He is not one to let the grass grow, and he’s already getting restless. There's a little bit of a lack of purpose that is settling in among these men. Now it’s true, some things have been clarified. They have seen the resurrected Christ. They have become convinced that He is alive, and that He has been raised from the dead; but they do not see yet clearly the ministry that Christ has for them. So there's a little bit of aimlessness or purposelessness about them. It's wonderful, Christ has been raised. He is alive. But He is not here walking with us. We cannot follow Him to this town or this city. We cannot sit and be taught by Him as we once could. So what do we do now? That truly their mind reversed and particularly Peter's....Well, what did we used to do? What were we? Fisherman. "So Simon Peter said to them, ’I am going fishing.’ They said to him, ’We will also come with you.'" They went out and got into the boat and that night they caught nothing. So they spent the night fishing. Customary to fish at night on the Lake or Sea of Galilee, and they had a fruitless night. No fish. Verse 4, "The day was now breaking (just at the dawn of the day), Jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus." We’ve talked about this before. That for a couple of reasons Christ is not clearly recognized all the time. I think one of the most obvious is that there is enough difference in the glorified body to raise the question. We will see this later on in this section as well, and also the fact that it’s His purpose that He not be immediately recognized on every occasion, perhaps.

At any rate, they did not know that it was Jesus. Verse 5, "Jesus therefore said to them, ’Children, you do not have any fish, do you?' They answered Him, ’No.’" The children, an unusual way to address them. But it doesn’t denote anything special as far as the relationship. Some of those with an English background, British, English, translate it by the way of lads, young men kind of idea. "You do not have any fish, do you?" implying they don’t. You see the way it is worded. In the New American Standard Bible, the construction here implies a negative answer. "You haven't caught anything, have you?" He knows they haven’t. So He addresses them in such a way that implies the answer. They answered Him briefly, "No." Now keep in mind this conversation, as we'll see in a few moments, is going on over a period of 100 yards. The boat, in verse 8, is 100 yards off shore. About the length of a football field. Jesus is standing, hollering out to them on the water, and they respond, "No." And perhaps it would not seem so strange that here is a stranger on the shore hollering out to them about the success of their fishing mission. Not been a good night? No. That's it. What else do you say. We're
tired. We've been fishing all night and haven't anything to show for it.
Verse 6, "He said to them, 'Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and
you will find a catch.'" Now you see w hat He's done. In verse 5, He has
called attention to their failure—have you caught anything? You haven't, have you. No. Alright, it's been drawn clearly to their attention their failure through the night. Now, My instructions. "Cast the net on the right side of the boat, on the other side, and you will find fish." "They cast therefore, and then they were not able to haul it in because of the great number of fish." Amazing difference. Now there's no question here. You might think the disciples would be arguing at this point—Look, we've been fishing all night. No good to throw the net out here. But they don’t have anything to lose, and this stranger on the shore says ’Cast it on the other side, the right side of the boat. You’ll get some fish.' Well, it won't hurt to cast it one more time, out that side. They do, and they have such a large number of fish they can't even pull it into the boat.

Now. Verse 7, "The disciple therefore whom Jesus loved...” That refers to John, as we've noted before. The disciple John, the author of this gospel, "said to Peter, 'It is the Lord.'" Now amazing. That miracle that occurs, this is the only miracle incidentally recorded after Christ's resurrection from the dead. These fish, being caught in this miraculous way. John says to Peter, "It's the Lord." He recognizes that the One who would have the authority to command them in this way and to bring about the results—John saw something supernatural here. Not just a lucky catch. He tells Peter, "It is the Lord." Now, if you hadn't read the rest of this, I wish you hadn't, but you already know. I would ask you to write on a piece of paper, tell me what you think Peter did. And just the character of Peter, as we've noted, doesn't change. Peter is still Peter, and in verse 7, "So when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put his outer garment on (for he was stripped for work), and threw himself into the sea." Peter couldn't idol around with nothing to do, he had to go fishing. Now John tells him it's the Lord on shore, and Peter can't
wait to paddle that boat back to shore! He jumps out of the boat into the water
and goes into shore. Now we're told he had taken off his outer garment, so he had more freedom for working. And now he puts that back on and jumps into the Sea of Galilee and heads for shore. The other disciples came in the little boat. Again the contrast in the character of Peter. It has to be a little bit amusing. As Peter jumps out and starts paddling for shore, and I take it it would probably have been a little shallow. The other disciples? Somebody's got to bring the boat in. Somebody's got to bring the fish, but not Peter! I’ve got to get to shore! "...they were not far from land, but about one hundred yards away, dragging the net full of fish." They paddle the boat in, they bring the fish. Again, all these little details recorded by John as an eye witness. You might think they would have left the fish in their hurry to get to shore, but no, they bring the fish. Because Christ had commanded them to cast the net, they had caught the fish, it only seems right to bring the fish along. They are fishermen. They get to shore, and verse 9.

"When they got out upon the land, they saw a charcoal fire already laid, and fish placed on it, and bread." It's interesting, Jesus has not waited for them to make the provision. He has provided the fire, He has provided the food here. When they get to shore after their wearisome long night of work, He has already made the preparation for them. And He tells them, "Bring some of the fish which you have now caught." And Peter goes out to help them now. "...drew the net to land, full of large fish, a hundred and fifty-three..." Now these are fishermen, and it's important how many fish there were. Now I have to say, I'm a city person. Who cares whether it was 148, 153, 109—it doesn't make any difference. But I'm not a fishermen. They are. This is a surprisingly large catch, and it's counted. Perhaps it's counted for the purpose of dividing it amongst the fishermen as well. I see no special significance in the number, 153. There have been some remarkable things done in interpreting numbers in Scripture, and there are a variety explanations of the number 153. I think it's just to denote the large catch that's here. And the fact that there were so many, but the net was not torn. Again, that impressed John. That you could get this many fish in a net and the net didn't break. Remarkable incident that John records in some detail. Now I think the real impact of the account here is seen when you connect it with the call of these fishermen. That what happens in John 21 is very similar to what happened when Jesus called them to follow Him. Go back to Luke chapter 5.

Let me read beginning with the first verse of Luke chapter 5 so you can see the similarity in what happens here. "Now it came about that while the multitude were pressing around Him and listening to the word of God, He was standing by the lake of Gennesaret..." The Lake of Gennesaret was the same as the Sea of Tiberias or the Sea of Galilee. Same names for the same place. "...He saw two boats lying at the edge of the lake; but the fishermen had gotten out of them, and were washing their nets. And He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little way from the land. And He sat down and began teaching the multitudes from the boat. And when He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, ’Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.’ And Simon answered and said, 'Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but at Your bidding I will let down the nets."’ Note the similarity. We have worked hard all night and caught nothing. Same thing that happened in John 21. They had toiled all night and caught nothing. Nevertheless, at Your bidding we will let down the nets.

"And when they had done this, they enclosed a great quantity of fish; and their nets began to break..." On that occasion the nets didn't hold because of the number of fish. Perhaps that's why John records that on this occasion in chapter 21 the nets did not break. That has made an added impression upon him. "They signaled to their partners in the other boat, for them to come to help them. They came, and filled both of the boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw that, he fell down at Jesus' feet, saying, 'Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, 0 Lord!' For amazement had seized him and all his companions because of the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon..." So you see, it is basically the same group of men back where Christ had called them, going through a similar kind of experience. A fruitless night of fishing, culminated by the instructions of Christ to cast out the nets again. Encompassing a huge catch of fish. What impact did that have on the disciples in Luke chapter 5? It convinced them that this One was the Sovereign Lord. They saw in it the fact that He was ruling over this creation, even the fish, and the results that are brought about. The point that Jesus uses here at the end of verse 10, "Do not fear, from now on you will be catching men." "When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him." In Matthew 4:19 Jesus said, "Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men." You see what the point of their calling in Luke 5 is. That just as4My instruction and bidding you have encompassed this large catch of fish, so now I am calling you to follow Me that you might not fish for fish but fish for men. And what is happening is that Jesus is drawing their attention, in John 21, to the purpose that He has called them for—fishing for men. I did not call you to be fishers of fish but fishers of men, and that has not changed. What has happened now in the three years since that call in Luke chapter 5? They’ve followed Him throughout His ministry, but now Christ has been crucified and has been raised from the dead. But the ministry they have been called to has not been changed by that. It’s not now time to revert back to what they were before, but they have been called to fish for men. They've lost a little bit of the vision that they were to have for their ministry. It wasn't a temporary call to be fishers of men, to fish for men. That was a call for their lives, and that hasn’t changed. I take it that's a major part of the significance in John chapter 21. The proof and evidence that He is the resurrected Lord and the reminder, fishers of men. You think their minds didn't run back as they encompassed all these fish to the time of their call? The reminder of why He had called them? You know, we need to do that, sometimes ourselves. We forget what we've been called for. Why we have been called. Who we are and what we are to do.

Another thing here that makes an impression on me, and again perhaps because I’m a city person, the simple, humble background of the men we are talking about. These are fishermen. That is the orientation of their lives. They were fishermen when Christ called them, humble men. Basically, they were uneducated men as the world would view them. And yet these are the very individuals that Christ hand-picked, selected, to revolutionize the world, to bring the message of salvation through faith in the Son of God to the world.

Look over in Acts chapter 4. This made an impact upon the people of the day. We tend to perhaps forget that these were common, ordinary, laboring fishermen that we’re reading about in the gospels and the Book of Acts. In Acts chapter 4, as Peter and John have been arrested and they appear before the Jewish leadership. Verse 12, the conclusion of the statements of Peter there is salvation through no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved.' Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John, and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were marveling, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus." Uneducated, untrained. These Jewish leaders cannot understand it. How can they be here proclaiming with such confidence? These are rugged fishermen and yet they are here proclaiming with confidence the message of salvation. Reminder of the way that God works. It has not changed. It is not the way the world does things. Important for us to keep that in mind, that the way God operates is not the way the world operates. If I was going to call a group of a dozen men around me as Christ did, would I have gone to the Sea of Galilee to select out fishermen? Would I have gone out to the centers of learning, to the influential people of the day and selected them to make the impact? I mean, who can make an impact, who’s going to listen to a rugged, toiling fisherman who is not educated, not trained in a way that the world respects? But God's way of doing it is not man's way. And often it is easy to slide over and forget the way that God does things.

Look over in 1 Corinthians chapter 1. Paul reminded the Corinthians because the Corinthians were forgetful, and they were sliding over to admire what the world admired—education, intellectual attainments and pursuits, approaching things in a way the world admires. And in verse 18 of 1 Corinthians chapter 1, Paul says "For the word of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, ’I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the cleverness of the clever I will set aside.' Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For indeed Jews ask for sings, and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block, and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised, God has chosen, the things that are not, that He might nullify the things that are, that no man should boast before God." We ought not to forget that. God doesn’t call the wise and the mighty and the noble. That doesn’t mean none of those are ever saved. The man who wrote this, the Apostle Paul, would fit that classification perhaps. But God's general pattern is to work with the humble, ordinary people. And that's crucial for us to remember today. You and I are the ones that God has chosen to carry out His ministry to this city, to this state, to this country, to this world! We ought not to be intimidated, "Well, I'm not educated enough. I don't have the right degree. I don't have the right training." What do you mean? How does God do it? Who does God use? We as a church need to be careful. We want to push to the fore, Oh, yes, there are those who are the shining stars, they’re the ones who can be used. I need to remind myself, God has chosen the foolish things, the base things, the weak things, for the power is operating and carried out.

Over in 2 Corinthians chapter 4, verse 7. "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels that the surpassing greatness of the power may be of God and not from ourselves." That's the point. That in this humble earthen vessel, this body, God is working in and through so that when anything happens, He gets all the glory and credit. We've lost sight of this. We live in an educated world, and we have adopted the world's standards. What is necessary for a man who wants to proclaim the gospel today? To be a preacher of the Word of God? Well, he ought to go to college and get this degree. He ought to go to seminary and get this degree. He's got to have the degrees that parallel what the world says is acceptable, then he is ready to proclaim. I'm not anti-education, and I appreciate the benefits of education. But I am fearful that we forget that God does not use the world's pattern and plan. We think, Isn't it great. We've got men who've got the same kind of degrees that the world has. They will recognize and appreciate us. You think it was any different in Paul's day? You think fishermen were in the Top Ten of the Most Admired? Most influential? Hardly! Were they effective? You read Peter's sermon in Acts chapter 2 and you see thousands of people saved—let me tell you, that was effectiveness! Because of his education? No, because of the power of God at work in Peter's life!

Look back in Amos chapter 7, verse 14. Amos was a herdsmen, a shepherd. The Book of Amos opened up, "The words of Amos, who was among the sheepherders from Tekoa." Then over in chapter 7 of Amos, verse 14, "Then Amos answered and said to Amaziah, 'I am not a prophet, nor am I the son of a prophet; for I am a herdsman and a grower of sycamore figs. But the Lord took me from following the flock and the Lord said to me, 'Go prophesy to My people Israel."' Amos didn't have great respect because of his position either. He didn't have a great pedigree to be admired, but you know what he said? "God called me from being a shepherd. God gave me a message to preach, and that's what I'm doing." A lowly herdsman, true. I don't have your education, I don't have your training, but let me tell you. I have God's call. I have God's message. That makes all the difference.

Jeremiah's call was the same, in Jeremiah chapter 1. "Lord, I'm a youth. Lord, I can't speak." God says to Jeremiah, "Shut up. Who do you think made your mouth? Who do you think gives you the ability to speak? You're telling Me what you can and not do? I've called you, I've appointed you, I'll tell you what to do." Jeremiah was right in one sense. He wasn't much, but God chose to use and work in and through him.

Look at Zechariah chapter 4, verse 6. "Then he answered and said to me, 'This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel saying, 'Not by might nor by power but by My Spirit1 says the Lord of hosts.'" That has not changed in the way God works, from the Old Testament to the New Testament. It is not by the power and might of men that God accomplishes His work. But it is by the power and might of His Spirit working in and through men. That does not mean that men are not important. God has chosen to use us as human beings, but the power the dynamic for the ministry is from the Spirit of God who works in and through us. So that means that any person, however humble their setting, however humble their background, is a vessel in and through whom God can accomplish great things as that life is submitted to Him. Now we can approach that from two ways—one, personally I ought to be careful about telling God what I can and cannot do. Oh, God, I'm not capable of carrying out that task. Oh God, I couldn’t do that. Oh God, all I’ve ever learned to do is fish on the Sea of Galilee. I can't go and proclaim to kings and rulers this message. God will tell me what I can do, I don't need to tell Him. Second, we as a body of believers need to be careful that we have an appreciation for one another.
Why should he be providing the leadership here? What training has he got? Why should he be leading over here? He doesn't have the background for that. You know all that is necessary? Is the appointment of God for the task. That makes all the difference in the world, in effectiveness or lack of effectiveness. I'm afraid that the church today, the church in this country has hand-cuffed itself, shackled itself by adopting the world's standards, the world's guidelines, the world's approach. Now we'll be successful because the world says if you do it like this, you will be. All you've got to do is look. Who is called to give their testimony at the conventions and the banquets? Stars. Who would have asked Peter to come give his testimony? Big convention today, and Peter the Fisherman! What? What do you mean Peter the Fisherman? That would be like today saying Joe, the Street sweeper! Who comes to hear him? But I tell you, when it's a person that God has called and appointed, he's got something to say. He's got a ministry to carry out.

Look over in Ephesians chapter 1. I want to belabor this with you. Ephesians chapter 1, verse 19. Paul is praying that we might know "what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might..." This power, this might that worked in Christ in raising Him from the dead. This is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.

Look over in Colossians chapter 1, verse 28, "And we proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, that we may present every man complete in Christ. And for this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me." What provided the effectiveness, the power? The Spirit of God working in him! And he labored and he toiled, but he didn’t bring about effectiveness—the Spirit of God did, as He worked in his life. That’s the same as it is with you and I. Even those of noble background, even those of wealth or prestige, well educated and well trained, God does call them and use them, but we need to be careful. God is using so and so and it’s his great education, his great training. No, it's the Spirit of God at work.

The Apostle Paul in the Book of Philippians chapter 3, verse 7, after talking about all that he was, "Whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ." Paul isn't saying, Boy God is using me because I’ve got the best training under Gamelial. God has given me a position of prominence and prominence because of my super background. No. Now, I’m not saying God didn't use that with Paul. I'm saying Paul recognizes why God uses him, and it's not because of these things. It's the Sovereign God at work in his life, and that's the way it is with any of us and every one of us ought to be encouraged.

Come back to John 21. We're dealing with fishermen. That's the orientation of their life, that’s the orientation of their thinking. This is a total change for them, that now from being a fisherman, I've grown up fishing. James and John's father, Zebedee. I mean, it's been the family way of life. Now you're going to take me out of that and plant me here, and that's what's happening. No wonder their minds go back to fishing. But Christ's call for them hasn't changed. "I called you to be fishing for men." And I take it that is true for us as believers.

Now, that doesn't mean that everybody's going to leave their jobs. There is a time when Paul makes tents. But we ought never to lose sight of what we are and who we are. We're men and women called to serve Jesus Christ. I may be supporting myself doing any number of things, but my task is to be a fisherman for men. Fishing for men. That's the ministry I have been called to. Paul made tents, but you never find him becoming absorbed in being a tent-maker because that was secondary in supporting him in his task of being a fisher of men. We need to be careful that we don't lose our orientation of what is important. Who am I? What has God called me to do? What makes me important? Whether I own the company or have the lowest spot in the company, but rather, who I am in Jesus Christ. What God is doing in my life. And I need to measure what I am doing in light of that.

John 21, verse 12. "Jesus said to them, 'Come and have breakfast.' None of the disciples ventured to question Him, 'Who are You?' knowing that it was the Lord." They didn't have to ask who it was, even though there is some difference in His appearance, in this glorified body. But none had to ask,
Who are you? They all had the awareness that this was the Lord. "Jesus came and took the bread, and gave them, and the fish likewise. This is now the third time that Jesus was manifested to the disciples, after He was raised from the dead." The third time for the disciples as a group, not the third appearance. There were other appearances, but the third time for the disciples when they have been collected as a group. Maybe not every single disciple, but generally as a group of disciples. This is the third time.

I think it's significant here—verse 13. "Jesus came and took the bread, and gave them, and the fish likewise." A reminder to them that He makes the provision. He has called them to be fishers of men, and He makes every provision necessary for them in that task. They are out fishing all night, they come to shore, and He has made the provision. He has started the fire. He has put the food on, because He is the One who provides. Peter, you don't have to go back to fishing. I have called you to fish for men, I’ll provide for you.

A reminder also—you can't read this without thinking of Revelation 3:20, where Christ promises to come in and sup with us, to dine with us, have dinner with us. That intimate close fellowship expressed there. We are privileged to have that kind of relationship with Him all the time.

What has John laid out for us here? A reminder given very clearly by these activities. What have I told you to be? Fishers of men. Do you see yourself in that light? Oh no, I just do this, and someone else has all the gifts. No. Have you seen yourself in light of what His call for us is? We are those called to go and proclaim the message that men and women might be drawn to salvation in Jesus Christ. Have you been fishing this week? Have you been so busy that you haven't had time to fish for men? We need to back up Wait a minute. Have I forgotten the call? Have I forgotten what He has called me to be and to do? I may have to work at this job to support my family, but if that's what He wants me to do, that's not inconsistent with what is His overriding purpose for me. Perhaps I need to be fishing where I am.

It's important to see that the effectiveness in the fishing comes only under His direction. There is no good human explanation. Fishing out of the same boat, on the same lake. Only when Christ takes charge, it's effective. They catch fish! That's the way it is in my life. We can be doing all these great things. I've got all these plans. Make all these lists, and I tell the Lord, 'You can use any of my ideas you want, Lord. Feel free.' Wait a minute! Back up. Effectiveness comes as I am submissive to Him and His direction and leadership in my life. That brings about results that are supernatural. He provides the power, the enablement to get it down.

Also, it's important that in all of this He is the One who makes the provision for our daily needs. He knows what we are. He knows the physical needs that have to be provided for and He makes the provision in that context. And perhaps the greatest privilege of all is that we are invited to dine with Him. To live in that relationship of intimacy, of communion, of fellowship in the task that He has called us to. Not sent out on our own but with Him who will never leave us nor forsake us, to enjoy that intimacy of fellowship and communion with Him at all times as we carry out the ministry that He has given us to be fishers of men.

What an opportunity I take it that you and I as we reach out to this city, and all around with the message of Jesus Christ. To be those that God will use. I don’t have to sit down and look at the paper I've got hanging on the wall to determine if I will be effective or not. All I have to do is look and see if I belong to Jesus Christ. Have I come to believe in Him? Is He the One giving the directions for my life? Am I one who is allowing Him to work in and through me to reach out that others might hear and believe. Let's pray together.

Father, we thank you for the privileged position we have in Jesus Christ. Those who have been called to life in Him. Father, for a salvation that is sufficient to cleanse and forgive, to make us new. Lord, thank you for the power that is at work in and through us. Lord, keep us ever aware of what effectiveness is, of where effectiveness comes from. It's so easy for us to begin to measure things by the world's standards, to strive for the world's goals. Lord, we lose the power, we lose our effectiveness when we so do.

Lord, how we can praise and thank you that you've chosen to use the humble, base, simple things. Father, we are instruments in your hands to accomplish your purposes. Pray that we will simply be willing, available, and open to be used of you to accomplish your purposes.

Lord, I pray for those who may be here today who have yet to believe in Jesus Christ. Lord, that the message concerning your Son, Jesus Christ, His death on their behalf might be used of the Spirit to draw them to Christ that they too might have life in Him, for we pray in His name