Witness FISHERS OF MEN
And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. Matt. 4:19.
In John 21 you have the story of the disciples who had decided to go fishing. Jesus asked them, "Have you any fish?" But they had worked hard all night and taken nothing. Then He told them to cast their net on the right side of the ship, and their nets were filled. He made it clear that if you are going fishing, you must fish on the right side of the boat. The wrong place to fish is on the wrong side of the boat.
We don't do injustice to Scripture when we transfer the fishing story to real life today and apply it to fishing for men, because Jesus Himself is the One who made the analogy. He said, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." So what can we learn from the story of the fish and Jesus' encounter with the fishermen-disciples?
We know what it's like to toil all night and to take nothing. Have you ever had that experience? There's many a Christian who has. He has tried to respond to duty, tried to witness, and was unsuccessful. It is discouraging to have doors slammed in your face. It is a miserable thing to fish all night and take nothing. What drudgery it is to try to do God's work with man's tools, and to splash the water and make a great many waves, only to catch a few small ones that slip away back into the sea again. This is par for the course in the experience of many Christians.
We need to realize that this failure can be a prelude to the miracle of the fishes. It's not so bad to toil all night and accomplish nothing if it brings us to our knees. Our problem is that sometimes we have done as the disciples did, and gone fishing by ourselves. Sometimes we plan and work and go to a great deal of expense and preparation. But we fail, because we are fishing from the wrong side of the boat.
What is the wrong side of the boat? It is the side of self-effort. The right side was the side that Jesus was on. "Jesus had a purpose in bidding them cast their net on the right side of the ship. On that side He stood upon the shore. That was the side of faith."--The Desire of Ages, p. 811. It takes faith to become involved in fishing for souls. It is as we unite with Christ and follow His instructions that we are enabled to be fishers of men.
And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. Matt. 4:19.
In John 21 you have the story of the disciples who had decided to go fishing. Jesus asked them, "Have you any fish?" But they had worked hard all night and taken nothing. Then He told them to cast their net on the right side of the ship, and their nets were filled. He made it clear that if you are going fishing, you must fish on the right side of the boat. The wrong place to fish is on the wrong side of the boat.
We don't do injustice to Scripture when we transfer the fishing story to real life today and apply it to fishing for men, because Jesus Himself is the One who made the analogy. He said, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." So what can we learn from the story of the fish and Jesus' encounter with the fishermen-disciples?
We know what it's like to toil all night and to take nothing. Have you ever had that experience? There's many a Christian who has. He has tried to respond to duty, tried to witness, and was unsuccessful. It is discouraging to have doors slammed in your face. It is a miserable thing to fish all night and take nothing. What drudgery it is to try to do God's work with man's tools, and to splash the water and make a great many waves, only to catch a few small ones that slip away back into the sea again. This is par for the course in the experience of many Christians.
We need to realize that this failure can be a prelude to the miracle of the fishes. It's not so bad to toil all night and accomplish nothing if it brings us to our knees. Our problem is that sometimes we have done as the disciples did, and gone fishing by ourselves. Sometimes we plan and work and go to a great deal of expense and preparation. But we fail, because we are fishing from the wrong side of the boat.
What is the wrong side of the boat? It is the side of self-effort. The right side was the side that Jesus was on. "Jesus had a purpose in bidding them cast their net on the right side of the ship. On that side He stood upon the shore. That was the side of faith."--The Desire of Ages, p. 811. It takes faith to become involved in fishing for souls. It is as we unite with Christ and follow His instructions that we are enabled to be fishers of men.
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