Fisher of men

(Mark 1:7) "And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men." There is a prerequisite in the above verse to becoming a fisher of men, and that is to "Come after" Jesus first. Only Jesus can give you the power and ability to catch men. For he said, "without me you can do nothing." Therefore we must surrender to being his servant first. How? 1) Forsake the past. In context here Jesus commands these apostles to leave their nets, to leave their past. Jesus doesn't mean here that all men are to forsake their jobs, but what he means is for each of us to leave the old way of life so that we can be effective and not hypocritical as we fish for souls. 2) Follow Him. This means to follow his lead, to learn of him, and then do likewise. The problem with most of us is not that we don't know what to do, we're just afraid to do it. You see, we can't truly follow until we surrender to his lead. Then, 3) Fish for men. Jesus said, if you first "come after," then he will make you a fisher of men. The reason that most of us do not win souls is because we haven't fully surrendered to the call of being a servant first. After that, fishing for men will be a normal part of our daily life.

Will we be ready ?

In (2 Peter 3:4) the Bible tells us that in the last days the scoffer will attack the doctrine of the second coming of Jesus Christ, saying "where is the promise of his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.” It’s easy to think that we have a lot of time until the Rapture, but truthfully it can happen at any moment. The world doesn't seem too worried however, in fact people today are becoming even more bold in their sin, not really caring or fearing God, but even that is a good indicator that our time is very short. Remember, God is not on our time schedule, and “The lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness;…But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night;..” There will come a day when the Church of God will be taken up into heaven, both those who are dead and the living, and our bodies re-fashioned like the resurrected body of Jesus Christ (Phil. 3:21). So be ready, for only those born-again by the Spirit of God will be going up! For he will come at a time when we think not! So the Question remains : Will we be ready ?

Submission to all authorities

(Rom. 13:1) " Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God." When you think about this verse, it's a very strong commandment concerning our submission to all the authorities in our lives. When God says "higher powers" He means those in authority. Whether they be in government, or at school, at work, at home, or in the church, we are commanded by God to submit and obey them all. It doesn't matter if we agree with them, or if they deserve it, or even if they are not saved. God put them over us to rule and to govern for Him. But some men will say, what if what they command breaks the law of God? Then like Peter say "We ought to obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29). That's why it's so important to know God's Word. So practice submission, and glorify God by your obedience to all whom God has placed you under, so that you "may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty" (1 Tim. 2:2). Submission begins in the heart. "Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake."

Respond in the flesh or in Love

(Rom. 12:21) "Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good." This verse should have a profound impact on any believer who desires to see the blessing of God on his ministry. I have personally learned over the years that my reactions are just as important as the message that I preach. When conflict or persecution arises in our lives because of our witness, we have a choice to respond back in the flesh or to respond back in the love of Christ. The attack of evil is a common practice toward those that preach Christ, but in order for us to be victorious and see the power of God work in the hearts and lives of those that do evil to us, we must practice good back. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but spiritual. For example, (Lu 6:27-28) " Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you..." We have not been called to be vindictive, or hurtful, but rather to love all men, even if the men we love hate us, or do wicked things to us. Evil can be overcome, but it must be done God's way. Goodness is what performs the miracle !

Character

In (Rom.Chp.12) the most important character quality of the Christian, is love. We have been command here in this chapter to practice love by "being kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love," and as we continue, we also see that in order for us to treat one another with this affection it is important that we 1) "bless, and curse not." This teaching comes from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. You see, it's not so easy to do good back to people that do bad to you, but the command is still the same regardless. We are to bless back. 2) "Rejoice with them that rejoice, and weep with those that weep." It's easy to weep with those that are down, but it's not so easy to rejoice with those who are blessed and we're not. So love does not envy the success of others, but rejoices with them. 3)"Mind not high things" Love does not elevate itself above others or judge some as less important. Conceit is a terrible sin that chooses to elevate self, and look down on others.

Hospitality

(Rom. 12:13) 1) "Distributing to the necessity of saints;…" In other words, we of WSBC should be willing to help out one another when in need. The word distribute, means to partake or share in, but necessity could mean anything from money to just lending a hand. The key to this verse is to just be willing. God didn't call the church to pay one another's bills, but He did call us to help out when times get tough. Knowing that we have each other's back is a tremendous strength, and encouragement, and usually just enough to keep us going in hard times. 2) "given to hospitality," means to be given over to the practice of entertaining people. The problem with the church today is that we are no longer close brothers and sister in Christ, but rather casual acquaintances. To practice hospitality we must learn to open up our lives, and homes to the fellowship of the saints. The love of Christ demands that we love one another not just in word, but also in deed.

Let love be

(Rom. 12:9) "Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good." In order for us to successfully minister to others, we ourselves have to learn the practice of "agape love." A love that is both sacrificial and unconditional. In the above verse we are asked to practice love without hypocrisy or insincerely. In other words our love for others is supposed to reflect the same type of love that Christ has shown to us. A love that has the continual mindset of forgiveness and long-suffering toward others. That's why we must continually remind ourselves how much Christ has loved us and forgiven us. Also if we're going to love others as we ought we need to learn how to practice good and not evil. If our focus is on self or on the things of this world we will practice evil, but if it's focused on the things of God, we will practice good. We must learn the difference. That's why the above verse says "let love be." It's a choice we make