Follow Me

The Occupation of Following Jesus

Matthew 4:18-22

I. Introduction

A. Read The Life-Saving Station

B. Explain how the church can be like this life-saving station

C. We will be looking at how we can mobilize the church to stick to our original purpose which is to lead people to Jesus and equip disciples in their faith

II. Context

A. Jesus is still in the beginning of His ministry calling His disciples

B. Jesus is calling them according to the occupation that they know

C. They must leave behind one occupation in order to follow the new one

1. This is a radical change

2. This is a radical commitment

3. They are also leaving behind family to follow Jesus

D. He is calling them to a new occupation – To be fishers of men

III. The Biblical call

A. Proverbs 11:30 “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and whoever captures souls is wise.”

B. Evangelism was the thrust of the early church - Acts 2:46-47 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

C. Paul saw it as the power behind His ministry - Romans 1:14-16 “I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish.  So, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

D. It was the purpose of Jesus – Luke 19:10 – “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

IV. The Call

A. Follow– The command was radical

1. Because normally the one being discipled would ask the master to mentor him.  In this case Jesus is calling the disciples to follow Him

2. To follow Jesus meant they would leave behind their jobs, their families, and their homes to seek something greater

3. That is where the next word comes in

B. Me– Who is Jesus

1. They most likely knew something of Jesus.  Andrew had been a follower of John the Baptist and was familiar with what John was teaching about Jesus (John 1:34-35)

2. They would not have know the depths of who Jesus was, but He was worthy to be followed

a) God incarnate, Messiah, the Word in John 1,

b) Colossians 1:15-20  

C. And I will make you –Jesus will do this work in them through His power - We are often fearful thinking that we do not have the ability to be evangelists and share our faith, but Jesus tells these men that he will make them fishers of men.  They must trust in Him

D. Fishers of men – Jesus is calling them according to what they know.  They are fishermen.  They catch fish for a living.  Jesus wants them to now fish for men.  They are share their faith that others may come to faith in Jesus

V. What do you need to become Fishers of men?

A. Calling– We are called to follow Him – Acts 1:8

B. Courage – A willingness to step away from yourself to follow Him

C. Power – He will make you Fishers of men

1. The cross if foolishness to those who are perishing – 1 Corinthians 1:18

2. Enlightenment is needed – 2 Corinthians 4:3-6

D. Boldness

1. Paul prayed for it – Ephesians 6:19-20

2. The first church prayed for it – Acts 4:29

3. The basis for Boldness:

a) Contrition - acknowledging the power of forgiveness

b) Certainty – Knowing that Jesus has done a good work in you

c) Confrontation – There is no true evangelism without confrontation

(1) You must show people that we are sinners

(2) We must share that there is no other way to the Father except through Jesus Christ

(3) You must call them to repent of their sin

VI. How do you prepare to Fish?

A. You must pray

1. We commit to pray for the lost by name

2. We pray that God convicts the lost

3. Pray for God’s blessing

4. Pray for conviction

5. Pray for illumination

6. Pray for salvation

B. We must know and use Scripture

1. The presentation is only a gospel presentation once we have said what only scripture can say

2. It is His divine revelation

3. Only scripture reveals the divine truths of salvation: Sin, Atonement through the cross, repentance, grace, and mercy

C. We must rely on the Holy Spirit

1. He is the one who gives you the words

2. He is the one who convicts the sinner’s heart

VII. How do you fish for men?

A. You must find a Spot – a Honey Hole – A fishing term for a place where you can catch a lot of fish

1. Fisherman will spend vast amounts of time finding and developing a honey hole – Searching it ou t and then putting down and artificial habitat for fish

2. Fisherman are so serious about a honey hole that they will often become very secretive about the location

3. If you are a true fisher of men you have identified some place in your life where you can go and encounter lost people –

a) For me it is a coffee shop

b) Dr. Lawless became a volunteer firefighter

c) For many it is a civic club, others a jobsite

B. Use the right bait – Jesus, not church, fellowship, benefits, or anything else

1. A good fisherman knows the right bait for the right fish

2. He knows what works and what doesn’t work

3. Fish never come to the boat based on the fisherman, they come for the bait

4. Our bait is Jesus

a) People need a savior

b) Jesus is sufficient to save us

c) He died on the cross for us that if we would turn to him in faith He will give us new life

d) Nothing else is as good

C. Begin to cast

1. Casting in fishing is simply throwing the bait into the water

2. We must cast our spiritual bait to catch fish

3. If you never mention Jesus you will never catch men

4. You must be willing to begin speaking in spiritual terms

a) Do you have a church?

b) What do you believe about Jesus?

c) Do you have a spiritual background?

d) Do you consider yourself to be a good person?

5. Know your message

a) Goodness of God

b) Offense of Sin

c) Sufficiency of Christ

d) Personal Response – Faith and Repentance

e) Eternal Life

f) Life Transformation

Proverbs 11:30

The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and whoever captures souls is wise.

Acts 2:46–47

46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Romans 1:14–16

14 I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. 15 So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

Luke 19:10

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

Colossians 1:15–20 (ESV)

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

Acts 1:8

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

1 Corinthians 1:18

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

2 Corinthians 4:3–6

3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 6:19–20

19 and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

Acts 4:29

And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness,

The Lifesaving Station

On a dangerous sea coast where shipwrecks often occur, there was once a crude little life-saving station. The building was just a hut, and there was only one boat, but the few devoted members kept a constant watch over the sea and with no thought for themselves went out day and night tirelessly searching for the lost. Some of those who were saved, and various others in the surrounding area, wanted to become associated with the station and give of their time and money and effort for the support of its work. New boats were bought and new crews trained. The little lifesaving station grew. Some members of the lifesaving station were unhappy that the building was so crude and poorly equipped. They felt that a more comfortable place should be provided as the first refuge of those saved from the sea. They replaced the emergency cots with beds and put better furniture in the enlarged building. Now the lifesaving station became a popular gathering place for its members, and they decorated it beautifully and furnished it exquisitely, because they used it as sort of a club. Fewer members were now interested in going to sea on lifesaving missions, so they hired lifeboat crews to do this work. The lifesaving motif still prevailed in this club’s decorations, and there was a miniature lifeboat in the room where the club initiations were held. About this time a large ship was wrecked off the coast, and the hired crews brought in boatloads of cold, wet, and half-drowned people. They were dirty and sick. The beautiful new club was in chaos. So the property committee immediately had a shower house built outside the club where victims of shipwreck could be cleaned up before coming inside. At the next meeting, there was a split in the club membership. Most of the members wanted to stop the club’s lifesaving activities, since they were unpleasant and a hindrance to the normal social life of the club. Some members insisted upon lifesaving as their primary purpose and pointed out that they were still called a lifesaving station. But they were finally voted down and told that if they wanted to save the lives of all the various kinds of people who were shipwrecked in those waters, they could begin their own lifesaving station down the coast. They did. As the years went by, the new station experienced the same changes that had occurred in the old. It evolved into a club, and yet another lifesaving station was founded. History continued to repeat itself, and if you visit that sea coast today you will find a number of exclusive clubs along the shore. Shipwrecks are frequent in those waters, but most of the people drown.