Fishers For The Kingdom
8/9/98
A. Preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of God
[Mark 1:14] Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, [15] And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. [16] Now as he walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. [17] And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.

[Mark 1:14] After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. [15] "The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!" [16] As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. [17] "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." [NIV]

        The message Jesus preached was the good news of the kingdom of God. That was supposed to be “good news” to the people. To some it was good news. To others it was not good news.
        Jesus said, “the time is fulfilled.” What time was fulfilled? What did Jesus mean by saying, “the time is fulfilled?” Daniel received a prophecy that there would be 490 years left for Jerusalem and the Jewish nation.
[Daniel 9:24] Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.

        Shortly before the end the Messiah would come and initiate the kingdom of God. That was the time Jesus referred. It was time for the kingdom of God. It was good news. The time was fulfilled. The NIV says, “The time has come.”
        Jesus said the number one requirement for entering the kingdom is to “repent and believe.” The problem today in the church and in society is the failure to repent. That’s right! Someone may ask, “How can society repent?” The problem is we have attached ‘religion’ to the word repent. Then religion attaches crying and sadness to repent. Repent has nothing to do with crying or altars or sadness. Repent is simply a biblical word that means to adjust the thinking. Following is the word study for repent tracing it to it’s root.
3340 metanoeo {met-an-o-eh'-o}
from 3539
(1) to change one's mind, i.e. to repent
(2) to change one's mind for better, heartily to amend with abhorrence of one's past sins

3539 noeo {no-eh'-o}
from 3563
(1) to perceive with the mind, to understand, to have understanding
(2) to think upon, heed, ponder, consider

3563 nous {nooce}
(1) the mind, comprising alike the faculties of perceiving and understanding and those of feeling, judging, determining
(1.a) the intellectual faculty, the understanding
(1.b) the capacity for spiritual truth, the higher powers of the soul, the faculty of perceiving divine things

        As we see, the word repent means adjusting the mind to receive spiritual truth. When a person does repent that person has the capacity for spiritual truth. They can perceive divine things. Repentance is the ability to change one’s mind to believe. Jesus said, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.” People suppose they believe the gospel. That is not exactly true unless they have adjusted to believe the time of the kingdom has come.
        Untruths such as an any minute rapture, a seven year tribulation, the natural Jews are superior in God’s purposes than the Gentiles, tongues are not for today, etc are all from the inability of the church to repent--receive spiritual truth. All we need to do is read His Word and properly interpret it. Instead we listen to the Dispensationalists and allow them to rob the kingdom with all it’s wonderful spiritual truth from us.
        Jesus began preaching the kingdom. His message was (1) the time is fulfilled; (2) repent ye; and (3) believe the gospel. It seems strange to me that Jesus asked those people to believe something that would not happen until thousands of years later. Perhaps Jesus was confused or maybe he was tricking them. We know that is not so. The truth is the time of the kingdom had come and Jesus inaugurated it with His ministry. Stop being robed of the kingdom walk with all its spiritual blessings you can have.

B. Fishers of men
        Jesus began preaching the kingdom of God. He needed to teach and train those who would carry the message on. He went out and began gathering disciples do just that. He saw Simon (Peter) and Andrew. He told them to follow Him and He would make them fishers of men. Simon and Andrew were throwing a cast net to catch fish. Jesus likened throwing the net to fishing for men. Liking catching men to catching fish is better explained in Matthew 13:47-48. In that passage Jesus likened the kingdom to a cast net cast into the sea.
[Matthew 13:47] Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: [48] Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away.

        Note that the kingdom is the net. We also know that we are the kingdom. We also were once fish caught by the kingdom net. What I hope we see in this lesson is that we are also the net. What the Lord desires to do with us is cast us into the sea of humanity. Using us as His net the Lord desires to gather all sort of fish.
        Years ago the Lord cast my family and I into the city I now live and pastor a church within. He has used us to bring in many fish. Our job is to bring fish in. He takes care of the separating of the fish. We have been a good cast net.
        I want to talk a little bit about fishing. I know about fishing. I can do a lot of thing. Many things I do well, but a few things I do with excellence. I am an excellent fisherman. I not only catch a lot of fish. I catch large fish. I catch a lot of large fish. Let’s talk about a few fishing principles.

1. Equipment
        Fishing requires some equipment. That equipment can be as simple as a stick and a string and a hook. It can also be as complicated as a large commercial fishing vessel. We are the equipment of the kingdom. The equipment is determined by the fish you desire to catch. When we understand that we are specifically made to catch a particular type of fish we will better understand our purposes in the kingdom.
a. We are the rods and reels
        I do use a cast net, but to make my points I will use fishing rods. I have numerous rods. I have too many rods (more than I can tell my wife I own). I have pan fish rods to deep sea rods. My pan fish rods are small and usually very flexible. My deep sea rods are long and very stiff. My pan fish rods have perhaps a few 100 feet of light monofilament line. My deep sea rods have hundreds of yards of heavy monofilament line on them. With my pan fish rods I have caught bluegill, crappie, small catfish, carp, hybrid, etc. These rods do just fine for these fish. They would be totally useless for a large shark. I have deep sea rods to catch the shark.
        We are the equipment, or the rods and reels, of the kingdom. Some of us are stiff and strong like the deep sea rod. Some of us are frail and flimsy like the pan fish rods. That is fine. The stiff deep sea rod is not practical for the pan fish. The pan fish is not practical for deep sea fishing. Some of us have short strings. We don’t have the patience to stay with a fish long enough to get the fish in. That is like my pan fish reels with short spools of monofilament. Others of us are very patient and can allow the fish to run. They can take hundreds of yards if they want. Little by little we work the line back with the fish on the end. We are equipped differently for different fish. But we all are equipped for fish. You are equipped to catch fish I am not equipped to catch. I am equipped to catch fish you are not equipped to catch. But together we for a net-work that brings in a catch for the Lord.

b. We are the Baits
        I can have the best equipment, but if the bait is not the correct bait, I will catch few if any fish. Can I tell you that we are also the bait. We are the bait. What I will say may not sound pretty. Fish require different baits. Some like worms, some like crickets, some like live fish. Some of us are worms, some crickets, etc. That is not a cut. Rather that is a compliment. Paul said that he became all things to all men that he could save some (1Co 9:22).
        All fish will hit live baits, but all fish will not hit artificial baits. Live baits are real. We need to be real around the fish we want to catch. Once most fish determine artificial parts about us they will not hook up. I am not a good artificial fisherman. I use live bait. I have some artificial stuff in my tackle box, but seldom use it. I don’t like it when I have to use artificial stuff to catch a spiritual fish. Sometimes I have to use it. Sometimes I can’t let people see the real living me. I must give them the preacher they need to see or give them some religious person. I have that in my tackle box, but I don’t like to use it.

c. Location
        We can have the best equipment and the best bait, but if the location is wrong we will not catch fish. I mentioned earlier that I throw a cast net. I can throw all day, but until I throw it where fish are I catch nothing. I simply have a wet net. I use different means to locate fish. I use electronics. I use my vision. I use my memory. Once located, I am confident I will catch fish.
        The rod and the reel, the bait, and the net do not determine where the cast is placed. That is determined by the master. So is it with us in the kingdom. The locations we find ourselves are divinely orchestrated. The master’s hands placed us to catch fish. He chose the equipment--me and you. On the hook He placed the bait--me and you. Into the sea He cast the net--me and you. Our job is to be the best equipment possible and the best bait possible. Allow and trust the Lord. Believe that He has utilized His heavenly electronics (angels) and His vision and His memory (Holy Ghost) to cast you and your family into the exact place you should be. Catch some fish.

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