Hi Dawn Leopard readers! This is Chrissie this morning filling in for my mom who is getting some much needed R&R with my dad this week. Mom asked me to write her MMP this morning since my husband brought the messages yesterday! (Thanks Mom, I love a good takeover :))
Yesterday morning, if you walked away with one thing, you walked away with a life motto challenge- that everyday when you leave the house it's as if you're changing the sign on your door to say, "Gone Fishin'." We, as Christ followers, cannot afford not to fish! If we don't fish, people perish. If we aren't fishing for people, we're just cruising by them.
In the first 16 verses of Mark 1, we see Jesus putting together the first team that would ever change the world. He's essentially recruiting His squad (as the young folks say ;) Notice something profound: Jesus did not start calling disciples in the synagogue or the temple. He started by the Sea of Galilee. He recruited fishermen, tax-collectors, those we would label "sinners". For us, this means that there is hope. Jesus can use anyone he pleases to be His disciples and change the world. None of us are excluded from fishing.
Jesus's first call was to "Come and follow me." He never rejects anyone that comes to Him but you can't fish for people without first following Jesus. The more we follow Jesus, the more He will give us a heart for people.
After following Jesus's call to "Follow Him", we must obey His command to GO. Jesus started His ministry by commanding that we GO and fish for people. When Jesus ends His ministry, He leaves us with the command to GO and fish for people. Don't you just love the way Jesus does things?
Know that the fish/people are not going to show up on your doorstep begging you to tell them about Jesus. You have to go to them. If you have a story to tell, you can go fish.
Fisherman exhibit three qualities: Passion, Patience, & Persistence. There are different types of fish just as there are different types of people. If you are passionate about fishing, you have to get to know the type of fish you're fishing for. Same goes for people. When you fish, you may not catch a fish the first time. But, often times that fish will grab at your bait and swim away with something. Know that people may not accept Jesus when you offer Him, but they walk away with some bait and often times they'll come back for the rest.
God never quit on you - don't quit on people.
Often times, the bigger the fish the bigger the fight. You may be fishing for someone who's heart has grown overly cold and hard because they've been away from the Lord for so long. Know that they'll put up a strong fight. The bigger the fish the bigger the fight. Don't give up because catching fish can be addicting. Once you catch one, you'll want to catch more!
When the disciples decided to follow Jesus, there was a cost. It cost them their families, jobs, security, and more. There's always a cost to following Jesus but the cost is a lot greater when we don't follow Jesus. Let's be participators and not spectators to what God is doing. If the gospel hasn't touched others has it truly touched you? We can't say we love people if we haven't shared Jesus with them.
My husband ended by sharing a story about His love disdain for cleaning fish. Here's something profound that we believe Jesus would tell us today:
You catch them, I'll clean them.
Go fish.
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