Fishers of Men

Sometimes we work for a long time and have no fruit. This is because we’ve been doing things in our own strength. But when we hear from God and do what he wants us to do, then we will have an abundant harvest.

When Jesus first called his disciples to follow him, they had been fishing all night and had caught nothing. They were experienced fishermen, but their own wisdom and strength had failed. Jesus told them to try catching fish again. When they obeyed Jesus, they caught many fish (Luke 5:1-11).

After Jesus’ death and resurrection, his disciples went fishing again. Again they fished all night and caught nothing. Then Jesus told them to put down their nets. When they fished according to Jesus’ word, they caught a lot of fish (John 21:2-6).

Through these two lessons, repeated at the beginning and end of his ministry, Jesus taught his disciples that they needed to be led by God.  

“Apart from me you can do nothing.”

“Abide in me and you will bring forth much fruit.”

Jesus said that he had food to eat that his disciples did not know about (John 4:32). His food was to do the will of his Father. When he obeyed his Father, he was fed spiritually. We need to know what God wants us to do, and then we need to do those things. That will feed us spiritually. We are not to live by natural food alone, but by the spiritual food of the word of God (Matthew 4:4). As we eat the word of God by obeying it, we will feed our spirits and become strong.

We are to live by the inspiration and leading of the Holy Spirit. He is to be the input and output of our lives. We are not to live in the flesh according to the ways of the world. We are to live above the world by the Spirit of God.

As we follow God’s leading, he will make us fishers of men. He will lead us to catch people for his kingdom. God wants us to cast out bread on many waters (Ecclesiastes 11:1-6). This means he wants us to tell many people about him.

We should be ready to give an answer to people who ask us about God (1 Peter 3:15). We should discuss God and his truth with others with gentleness and respect. There is no point in fighting with people or putting people down. Let us show love and respect to them, for we were once like they were.

God wants us to buy up the time (Ephesians 5:16). He doesn’t want Satan to dominate the time and cause us to waste it. God wants us to buy up the time when talking to others. He wants us to share the gospel (Colossians 4:5-6) and not just allow others to dominate the conversation. As we talk, our speech should be gracious. We can be kind and courteous. We can show the love of God. God also wants our conversation to be seasoned with salt. We need to bring truth into conversations like salt. We need to sprinkle truth in here and there. When we speak to others in grace along with truth, the Holy Spirit will inspire us as we are talking, and he will give us further revelations about what to say.

The Holy Spirit will lead us. He will make us effective fishers of men. We won’t need to do this in our strength, but in his. And as we follow some basic principles laid out in God’s word, he will give us a harvest.