Missions

An Invitation To Win Souls

by Rev. Dr. R.J. Lightsey 
07/11/18
Free to Share

  Message Writer
  Hire Writer

Tweet

Matthew 4:18-25

 “18 And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.

19 And he saith unto them, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.

20 And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.

21 And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them.

22 And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.

23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.

24 And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them.

25 And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan” (KJV).

I have always enjoyed reading and studying the above passage of scripture. Verse 19 has always been (and will continue to be) one of my favorites. As Jesus was walking by the sea of Galilee He saw Simon (Peter) and his brother Andrew busy about their work of fishing. He invited (instructed) them to follow Him and He would make them “fishers of men.” Wow! That is awesome. They were chosen to move from gathering fish in a net to winning souls for Christ!

What I find so amazing about this is that they immediately “left their nets” – that is made the proper arrangements to put the business in order and then followed Christ. Once that happened, they moved on and came upon James and John, the sons of Zebedee. Jesus invited (instructed) them to follow just as he did with Peter and Andrew.

From that point Jesus went throughout Galilee preaching, teaching, and healing. What Peter, Andrew, James, and John witnessed was Jesus doing what He had called them to do. The first requirement was for them to “follow Him.” If we follow Christ (His Will, His Way, His Word) others will see His anointing in and on us. We will be seen as living examples of who and what Christ has called us to be – fishers of men.

Those who have confessed Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and have an earnest and sincere desire to serve Him will be extremely successful in living a life that compels others to do the same. We will be “fishers of men” and our nets will be full as we fulfill the great commission of making disciples through preaching, teaching, and healing. Always be mindful that we have received an awesome invitation to win souls!