FISHERS OF MEN

As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers; Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." At once they left their nets and followed him (Matthew 4:18-20)

"Follow Me" in the text above simply means we must follow Christ irrespective of our status, position and our personal circumstances in life. Being a 'Fisher of Men' means we have to bring others to Christ.



A fisherman is a person who fishes as a profession or hobby. A professional fisherman often goes to the deep sea with bait and net to catch fishes. A fisherman who is catching fishes for sport (or as a hobby) will often go to a lake, stream or pond. A fisherman's task is simply to use different techniques (required by his profession) to catch fishes to sell, eat or to give others. By catching the fishes, the fisherman makes an impact on others.

A fisherman needs experience, gained probably from an expert who is knowledgeable about the trade. In the scripture above, Jesus was going to teach the disciples how to fish for men (for the kingdom of God), which was considered to be more important and a better calling on their lives than their day job.

Being a 'fisher of men' is a call by Jesus Christ not only to His disciples but for us (Christians) to win souls for the kingdom of God. We can do this by preaching the word of God to everyone (regardless of their status, sex, young/old, male/ female, situation), evangelising or by our way of life. We must also use different techniques to evangelise as the situation required.

Just as a fisherman uses his net to catch fishes, so also fishers of men use the word of God (Bible) to convert the unbelievers. It is essential that a fisherman is taught and acquires some skills before he can go on the deep sea (lake or pond) to bait for fishes. As a fisher of men, they must be sure of their own salvation i.e. being saved (born again) before they can bring others (men, women, youths and children) into God's kingdom

Who can be a Fisher of Men?
Someone who is:

1. Saved (born again Christian)
2. Called, Chosen and chiselled and charged with the purpose of winning souls
3. Have some knowledge of the Word of God – the bible (in case you are asked questions)
4. Separated from the world to the Lord just as Jesus Christ charged his disciples Someone who knows how urgent the task is – the disciples went 'immediately' 'at once' (Galatians 1:15-16)
5. Ready to take any opportunity to preach the word and lead others to Christ. It could be in the bus, pub, hospital, aeroplane, school, college, university, office, on the train etc. You however need to be sensitive to your environment.

Traits of a "Fisher of Men"

1. Ambitious – having the strong desire and determination to lead others to the kingdom of God
2. Purposeful – wishing to bring as many people as possible to the Kingdom of God
3. S/he Endeavours – using all efforts and seeking all opportunity to bring others into the kingdom of God.
4. S/he has a Goa l – establish how many souls you want to win with a timescale and technique for achieving this
5. Interest – you must find it exciting to fish for men
6. Necessity – knowing that there is no way out – we are called to do this
7. Standard – explaining God's standards to new Christians
8. Treasure – the kingdom of God is precious, you need to let others know what is precious about it
9. Utterance – you need to open your mouth to tell others (preach)
10. Vision – God's plans, purpose in the bible must be shared with all
11. Zeal – you need to be tenacious in bringing others to the kingdom of God.
12. Adopting different techniques (as a fisherman would use) to bring others into the kingdom of God. By word of mouth, action, love feast, sharing our testimonies, fellowshipping with others etc

Key Elements to becoming a "Fisher of Men":

1. Knowing the scripture (bible)
2. Having the salvation of God
3. Going out at all seasons for our Lord – Jesus Christ
4. Sowing the seed (the word) of faith
5. Preaching the gospel to the perishing
6. Bearing fruits (win souls) for the Lord of the harvest.
7. Must be sanctified – you must be set apart from the world
8. Spirit filled by the Holy Spirit which gives you the boldness to preach to others
9. Self denial – you must put your own worldly interest or desires aside
10. Saturated - you must be full with the Holy Spirit and operating under its direction
11. Steadfast – you must be fixed and unchanging in your call as a Christian to bring others to the kingdom of God
12. You must be chiselled into shape by the Lord: when God chisels a man into shape there will be – holiness, happiness and other qualities listed above which will give you the boldness to partake in the fruit of the harvest, make you charged for service to bring others to Christ.

THE GREAT COMMISSION

The great commission is a command given by Jesus Christ to all Christians to "GO" into the world and preach the gospel (good news) to every creature. This is God's instruction, which all Christians are tasked with.

"And Jesus came and spoke unto them, saying, all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. "GO" ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptising them in the name of the father, and of the son and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe whatsoever I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world" (Matthew 28: 18- 20).

There is an urgency in the command for us to stand up NOW and go into the world to evangelise (preach the gospel)

Mark 6:6-7 says Jesus called the disciples and sent them out in twos and gave them power over unclean spirits.

Key Elements

• There must be an immediate response on your part, without giving excuses.
• We must be pro-active and must not postpone or procrastinate.
• It must not be when it's convenient for you/me – as it may be too late for the soul we have not saved.
• It is compulsory – we have no choice in the matter. Jesus commands us to "GO" now.
• More Christians are needed - Luke 10:2 says ... "the harvest is plentiful but the labourers (workers) are few..." This means we cannot relax on our laurels, a lot of lost souls are still out there to be brought into (won) for the kingdom of God. A lot of people still need to hear about the gospel (good news). That is why Jesus Christ will not come until the message is preached to all nations. As such; Jesus Christ's coming is dependent on our obeying His call to fulfil the great commission which invariably means, we are partly responsible for Christ's second coming.
• "The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and HE THAT WINNETH SOULS IS WISE" (Proverb 11:30). If the person who wins souls is WISE, the opposite is that the person who does not win souls is FOOLISH. The question is - which of the two categories do you want to be in?
• You will be rewarded for obeying this command. The book of John 15:16 says:-"You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that you should GO and BRING FORTH FRUIT, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever you shall ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you". This is a secret to God answering your prayers. God's promise in this passage is dependent on your action – GO AND BRING FORTH FRUIT AND LET IT REMAIN! By letting it remain means that you follow up on the new convert as often as you can after you've encouraged them to fellowship with a local church in their area.
• The command is for NOW, this hour, this season, and this point in time. Are you going to get up and "GO" and fulfil the command?
• The right time may never come because our journey here on earth is but for a limited time that's why Jesus Christ speaking in John 9:4 says "I must work the works of him who sent me while its day for when the night will come the time to work would have gone away". The day means when we are alive and still have the breath of life and the night means when we are dead. It is our choice.
• CAN GOD COUNT ON YOU/ME TO "GO" AND FULFILL THE GREAT COMMISSION COMMAND OR DOES HE HAVE TO RAISE UP STONES TO DO IT IN OUR STEAD? How are you going to do your bit?

By: Gbemisola and Caleb Momoh

Contributors: Yemisi Debo-Adesina, Seun Oludipe, Tope Oludipe and Dotun Oludipe
"Fishers of Men" Commissioners