I WILL MAKE YOU FISHERS OF MEN !
I WILL MAKE YOU FISHERS OF MEN.
Are you having a bad conscience for not witnessing enough? Are you wondering what you should say to your neighbors about Jesus? How would you win your family and your colleagues? I am sorry, but I do not have all the answers, but I know of One Who is saying: “I will make you fishers of men.” This word became so alive a few days ago since I am one of those with a bad conscience and many questions. I could shift the focus from me to Him. I should not catch people in my own strength. I didn’t need to put myself together. I didn’t need more bad conscience either. The only thing I needed to do was to come close enough to the Lord and ask Him to teach me the skill of being a fisher-woman in His kingdom and for His kingdom. I usually say that someone else should catch the fish and I should clean it and I still think that is my main duty, but we are all called to be His witnesses no matter where we are.
I do not believe that we should stress, but be open for Him to form us. We must first and foremost be obedient to His instructions. Jesus was obedient even to His death and Abraham was willing to sacrifice His own son Isaac. This became a symbol of what God later did with Jesus.
We read in Acts 1:8 that we will receive power to be His witnesses when the Holy Spirit comes over us. Many are wondering how they should be His witnesses, but it isn’t so complicated. In Acts 4:20 it says that we should testify about the things we have seen and heard. I have just returned from a conference where I heard a lot about great changes in peoples’ lives. Previous drug-addicts and alcoholics could testify about deliverance through the power of the Holy Spirit. We witnessed restored marriages where the husband had beaten his wife, but today they loved each other with a divine love.
For God nothing is impossible.
How is it possible? It depends on our willingness and our obedience. We must be open for receiving the power and the help from the Holy Spirit.
When my youngest daughter was about three years old, she used to say: “I do myself.” This wasn’t so easy to follow when we were short of time or the task was bigger than her ability. Many Christians are unfortunately saying the same today. They think they are independent then, but they are just as childish as my three years daughter. It is not your cleverness nor your eloquence that make you a good witness for Jesus, but the Holy Spirit.
Is it possible to attend a course in order to learn how to fish people for Jesus? My answer is both yes and no. We must avoid being so individualistic that we cannot learn from others. Many Christians have been a tool in the hand of God and they have prayed the prayer of salvation with many people. Other Christians have been sowing seeds that later lead to peoples’ salvation. We should not become copies, but they certainly have something to teach us. We can learn from the success of others, but we must become dependent on the Holy Spirit. Each person is special and I believe that there are different keys into every person’s heart. The main key is Jesus, but the keys can have different looks and shape. There might be very small margins in order for the key to open the door.
I just listened to a sermon describing different ways of recognizing the presence of the Holy Spirit. Some people do that when they are alone with God. Others in the Word and there are those who mostly desire to attend meetings of little structure where the Holy Spirit has full freedom. None of the ways are necessarily wrong, but we are different and we have different backgrounds and experiences.
Many are rejecting Jesus because we Christians have presented Him in another spirit and in a wrong way. When we are witnessing about Jesus, it is always in a spirit of love and respect for that person. We must never make ourselves better than the other person or laugh because they do not believe or they believe in something else than ourselves. I guarantee that the result will be negative. If you had been raised in a Muslim country, you would most likely have been a Muslim today. We are all saved by grace. We read in John 16 that the Holy Spirit came to convince us about our sin and of God’s grace and our duty is to do the same.
God has given spiritual gifts to His children and I believe that we should use those in a much greater way when we evangelize. I know people walking on the streets and in shopping centers and they ask if people have pains or suffer in any way. If the answer is yes, they ask if they can pray for them. A huge percentage of the people say they get healed. Those who pray are always saying that they pray in the name of Jesus. They talk to people and some get a Bible. Others get a follow-up and others are referred to a local church. The gifts of the Spirit are active in those who pray. Very few get saved there and then, but they get a taste of heaven that can lead to salvation later on.
God’s healing goodness was the first seed that was sown.
Who is the teacher? The Holy Spirit and He is only doing what He is told. Jesus did the same. He only did what the Father said.
Jesus says that we should recognize the voice of the Shepherd. We must spend so much time with the Holy Spirit that we can separate His voice from other voices. The Holy Spirit is today the third part of the Divinity on earth, the only part. God, the Father and Jesus are in heaven. The Holy Spirit is called the Helper and He is more than willing to help us if we want to. He is already there when we wake up in the morning saying: “What can I do for you today?” What an offer! Some of us might not be so fresh in the morning and we might forget that the Holy Spirit is there waiting for us. The only thing that the Lord needs to hear is: “Lord, here I am, use me.” The Holy Spirit is available, but we also need to be available. Do you know that the Holy Spirit cannot do anything without us?
The Holy Spirit cannot do anything without us and we cannot do anything without Him.
Jesus is the Savior of the whole world, but many do not know Him. You and I must present Him for the world. Everybody has a family, neighbors and friends and that’s where we have to start. Some people are so afraid of rejection and they allow that fear to rule them. These people are ruled by the enemy and not the Holy Spirit.
Have you heard about persecution? Most of us have. These people might have lost home and family and some have suffered a lot for the sake of the Gospel. Some have become martyrs. We cannot compare a little ridicule with the suffering of these people.
MAKE YOURSELF AVAILABLE TO BECOME A FISHER OF MEN AND THE LORD WILL HELP YOU!
Mother Else