When we follow Jesus, Jesus tells us, "I am going to make you into something else than you are: I am going to have you fishing for people."
"Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” Luke 5:11
Using the Mark Story
Follow me, and I will make you ...
Notice what he didn't say: I will make you ...
... more disciplined
... more spiritual
... honest
... a better husband and father
... a better man
No, I am going to send you out to fish for people.
Huh?
Won't happen immediately, but if you follow me, this is what you are going to learn by being around me. This is who you are going to become by knowing me.
Jesus did it -- it took awhile. But they took their distinct personalities, backgrounds, interests, and because they were with Jesus and they turned their hearts to God, and they began to fish for people.
No they blew it a bunch --
call down fire
who sinned this man or his parents
ran off the kids
didn't let a blind guy get close
couldn't cast out the demon in the boy
But by the end of the story, they began to get it, and they went from being mere tag along buddies to Jesus' followers who fished for people!
Jesus' goal for you isn't just for you to follow, but to follow and fish!
Ouch! Nobody really follows for that reason -- nobody really follows Jesus to learn to fish for people. We generally follow to get something from God. Get right with God. Do good things for others because of God. Be a better person for God by overcoming addiction or to fix your relationship with your family ...
We come to Jesus and say ...
"Gimme gimme I need I need I need ... What about Bob! How many of us come to Jesus! Fix, Heal, Save, Cleanse --
Following Jesus has all kinds of advantages -- we like it, we follow Jesus because we want what he has, are thankful for what he gives us and promises us.
But Jesus calls us to follow him and let him make us into something incredibly special -- I'm going to take all that stuff you were before, the relationships and the skills, and amp them up and give you the opportunity to use them to lead folks to know me! I will bring eternal value to all of that to shape you and form you and to position you in someone else's life so you can lead them to know me!
Want an example? OK, how about Matthew the tax collector Luke 5
Or Andrew, the guy who has always lived in his brother's shadow John 1
Or Saul, who became the apostle Paul, and he was told at his conversion that he would fish!
There are a bunch of others, too! a woman at the well, a widow, and a man with a Legion of Demons, a leper who was cleansed
That's fine, Phil, but you are preacher and this is what you are all about. It's way easier for me, a big advantage.
The real issue is that we all hear satan's criticisms and cynicisms whispered in our hearts to make us think that we can have the potential to fish -- we don't think that God could use us in this way ... and in fact, you feel so much that way you think that you just might need to go somewhere else for awhile until we get done talking about this stuff!
But hear Jesus -- Follow me and I will ... SEND you ... literally MAKE you -- you are perfectly positioned to bring someone that no one else can!
Think about how you came to Jesus:
* Jesus came as God's Message
* A Messenger came along that was perfectly positioned to share Jesus with you
* When the moment was right in your life, your responded
So now, Jesus just asks you to repeat the process! Follow me ... I will teach you to fish! Bottom line, Jesus makes his followers into fisherman! Jesus followers fish!
Some are visiting today or thinking today, Argh? Why all this encouraging others to come believe what you believe? Why can't you just let us alone and be who we already are?
We are not better, we just know we are better off. We are blessed because someone took the time to fish for us! How could we not fish?
Assignment:
Walk up to 10 people and say, I love you and God loves you and if you were to die tonight would you go to heaven.
No, no, no -- exercise that you were once a fish and that someone loved you enough to lead you into this relationship to Jesus.
Write a letter to the person who introduced you to Christ or brought you back to Christ.
Remind you that somebody took the time, in love, to reach out to you and bring you close to Jesus.