1. Called to
be Fishers of Men
Please read Mark 1, 14-18
To summarise the passage Jesus said and is still saying that:
The time has
come,
and - the Kingdom is near.
In God's calendar and
according to His clock, now is always the time of God's salvation, and
today is always the day of His salvation (2 Corinthians 6,2).
Jesus said to repent, to
believe and to follow me,
and I will make you fishers
of men.
- Simon and Andrew
responded by leaving their nets which were their means of making a
living, and they followed Jesus, choosing to believe Him and become
dependent upon Him and His word to them.
2. In the
Kingdom our job is to be fishers of men
One
fisherman with one rod and line can catch a fish from time to time.
However, let
us learn from the methods of the world, who can be wiser than the people of
God, Luke 16.8
-
When
fishermen get together and work as a team on a fishing boat, they catch
many fish.
-
When
fishing boats of different companies get together and work in
partnership, they spread their nets over maybe 50 square kilometres.
When they pull in those nets they leave the ocean empty of fish, and
reap the great reward of working together.
-
Jesus
illustrated this in Luke 5,4-7.
3. Putting
out into deep waters, because Jesus says so
Please read
Romans 10, 9-14
In verses
9-13, we see how men and women can be saved from sin, from self, from Satan
and from a lost eternity, and saved for Christ's Kingdom, for blessing, for
hope in this life and for a certain future with the Lord in eternity after
this life. This is the wonderful good news of the gospel.
However, in
verse 14 the scripture then divides the whole human race into precisely
three parts:
Firstly,
"They" who need to call on the name of the Lord
Meaning all the people called 'they' who need to call on the Lord who
saves and richly blesses all who reach out to Him.
Who are
they? See Matthew 24.14 and 28.19 for an idea, and review lessons 17 and 18
to revise your learning about unreached people groups, although of course
'they' may live next door to your home or church.
Secondly,
those who are called to go
Meaning the brothers and sisters in church who are called by God to
leave their "country, their people and their father's household and go to
the land that the Lord shows them."
(Genesis 12.1)
Those who
are called to go 'they' (or them), who need to call on the Lord.
-
What will they do?
"How can
they hear without someone preaching to them?"
You think you can't preach?
Remember
Moses, Exodus 4.10 -17.
Remember
Isaiah, Isaiah 59.21
Remember
young Jeremiah, Jeremiah 1.9
Remember
young Amos, Amos 7.14,15.
Remember
young Esther, Esther 4.14-16.
Remember
Peter who denied Jesus before he was filled with the Holy Spirit, but
afterwards see his boldness, Acts 2.14 onwards.
You can't speak the language?
Remember
St. Augustine's command when dismissing his workers to go into ancient
Europe with the gospel, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to
every creature, and if you have to - speak as well!"
Augustine understood that it is often more effective to preach the
gospel with our lives laid down in humble, sacrificial service of others
for no reward, before we ever need to speak. We ourselves may be the
only 'Living' Bible that some people ever see.
Thirdly,
and equal in importance, those who are called to send
If you do not need to call on the name of the Lord for your salvation,
and if you do not feel called to go, then you are called to send. Scripture
gives us no other option or category.
We send
those who are called to go to 'they who need to call,' that is to the
unreached peoples of the world.
In the
military and especially in the air force, it is a fact that for every pilot
flying in the front line battle, another 400 men and women are needed in the
background to supply him with everything from food, to training,
accommodation, communications and ammunition.
Sending is a
vital call and not at all second-class or a secondary occupation. Those who
are called to go can hardly function without a sending structure, and
conversely those that have a sending structure behind them are able to
function effectively and efficiently and for a long time.
-
A
true story of two girls
Donna
received the call of God to mission in her late teenage years. She
shared this with her local church who advised her, prayed for her and
did all they could for her through years of Bible training, short-term
missions experiences and the learning of valuable medical skills. When
she was finally sent she left with a team of prayers, givers and pastors
behind her.
Ann
responded to the call of God in a church which showed little interest in
her faith and vision. When she went for training no mention was made, no
prayer was prayed, no goodbye and God bless you was given, and no
support was offered, except what might be given by people now and again.
As she matured and won victories of faith, only God and her close
colleagues on the field saw and applauded.
One girl
was sent and one 'went.' One girl went through years of hard preparation
with lots of hugs and care, and one girl went through years of hard
preparation with agonies, loneliness, insufficiency, poverty and
frequent despair. By the grace of God both girls have become superb
missionaries and can look forward to a lifetime of being a blessing.
Donna serves in East Africa and Ann's heart is for war-torn Eastern
Europe..
Which
girl was hugged and which girl suffered, and why was that?
4. What does
it mean to be a sending church?
When God
calls people to go from your church, let's remember that sending into
mission means much more than a goodbye service and a prayer.
Neal Pirolo
in his excellent book, "Serving as Senders" (ISBN 1-85078-199-0) teaches
that a sending church will give this kind of encouragement:
-
Moral
Support - positive encouragement for people to leave career,
money-making, family and security to follow if Christ is calling.
Practical Support - the help that is needed to get men and women on
their way, renting their home, overseeing their affairs and family left
behind, packing their belongings and a thousand other ways too.
Financial Support - to keep and equip them on the field not in
poverty and just enough, but with an adequate income to do the job.
Prayer Support - organised intercession to protect and bless them in
life and work, not just a routine mention of them in the Sunday service.
Communications Support - regular letters, e-mails and parcels are
vital to keep the missionary family in the church family as extensions
of home, not amputations from home.
Re-entry Support - is very necessary to help missionaries re-adjust
to home life on their breaks and when they finally return. It is a fact
that coming home can cause far more culture-shock and stress than going
!
5. Finally,
let's overhear a conversation from Isaiah 6, 1-8
Young Isaiah
found himself in the Spirit, entering into the worship of heaven and facing
the holiness of the Lord Almighty. In such a presence he understood his own
sinfulness and felt lost. Only after an angel had touched him could he
recover, and then he overheard the conversation between Father, Son and Holy
Spirit.
"Whom
shall I send, Who will go for us?"
We can
imagine young Isaiah knocking on the door and saying, "Excuse me, Sir, I am
sorry but I could not help but overhear what you were asking."
"Here am
I, send me."
This was the
voice and the words of young Isaiah 2,760 years ago, but if we listen
carefully we will hear the same voice today, only this time it is the voice
not of young Isaiah but of young Africa, young India and young South
America.
They have
the same call, they offer the same response, they have the same hope - Send
Me !
God said to
young Isaiah - Go, and made it possible for him. Today God works through the
Body of Christ - the Church, whose responsibility it is to recognise those
who are called to go, and to send them thus fulfilling a vital role in the
Great Commission.
Oswald
Smith, renowned author of A Passion for Souls and the pastor of People's
Church in Toronto, which years ago sent hundreds of people into world
mission said,
"If you
can't go yourself, for God's sake send someone else in your place."
They did and
went into the history books of the 20th century.
The truth is
that a local church is not limited to sending it's own members into mission
to those who need to call upon the Lord. It can adopt a missionary from
another church and work in partnership with them as do the fishermen in the
boats. It can adopt a missionary from distant Africa, from Asia or from
Latin America and work together in rewarding partnership.
One small
local village church, Riverside in England:
-
Sent
Philippe in Burkina Faso - and thousands heard the gospel.
-
Sent
John in India - and a new unreached tribe was discovered.
-
Sent
Samuel in India - and now Jesus is preached in the jungles.
Jesus
said and still says:
The time
has come, the Kingdom is near
Repent,
believe, follow me - and I will make you fishers of men.
Will we
allow Him to do so by sending men and women to go and preach to those
they who need to call upon the Lord?