Fishing for People Today

Scripture: Matt 5:3-6

Video link: https://www.facebook.com/gregory.dubois.547/videos/10158111252311195

We have talked about the true disciple, one who follows Jesus and lets him change us into people who fish for other people, to make new disciples. Let me summarize the definition of a disciple again: That is a person who is following Christ. You made a mental decision to put him in charge of your life. And because of that decision you are now being made into a fisher of other people. You are letting Jesus change your heart. And finally, you are committed to the mission of making new disciples, putting your mental assent and your heart’s desire into action. A disciple is following Christ, being changed by Christ, and is committed to the mission of Christ.[i]

Last week we talked about all the hurting and broken people, as well as the injustices that cause their suffering. I challenged you to choose which story line you wanted to contribute to, the hurt or the healing. Of course, I know that you want to be part of the healing. Also, we know that a lot of people need to hear and believe the gospel, and then decide to follow Jesus with us.

So, this week I started seriously asking God in my prayer and study times this question, “Lord, how exactly are we supposed to fish for people, today?” In truth, I’ve thought about that question a lot. But this week I decided that I want to preach about that, so I told God, I’m going to really need an answer now. That was Tuesday, and I began praying that He really would show me, or else I’d have to find something else to talk about.

I wanted this to be a practical message that answerers the question, “What do we do?” In times past, the answer was, go door to door and just ask them about their relationship with Jesus. Do we need to do that again?

In the wild west, last century, the circuit riding Methodist would come into town and just start talking to people and look for a place to set up a platform and preach in the open air to whoever would listen.

Another answer was, if you build it, they will come. At one time that was done by holding revival meetings in tents, temporary structures that made the evangelistic meeting into a special event, with a famous main speaker who traveled the world to share the gospel. More recently the answer became, create a great worship space with the right environment and music, and people will come to hear the gospel message.

But what does God want us to do today? If we’ve got the allegiance down and the heart’s desire to make new disciples, exactly how do we take action to carry on the mission today? Are we already doing the best we can, or are we missing something?

Surprisingly, the practical answer was, Matt 5:6, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” I see the faces of the people here with me going. “Huh? What does that have to do with evangelism?” It took me a while too, which is why I think this is really a message from God to us.

What do you normally think of if you want to call yourself a person who hungers and thirsts for righteousness? I’ll bet it’s a longing for peace and shalom. An end to racism and social tensions, a strong and prosperous economy with good government and plenty of freedom with no sources of hostility anywhere. But here’s what God impressed upon my heart, are you hungering and thirsting for your own personal developing righteousness as you follow Jesus into spiritual maturity? We usually hunger and thirst for righteousness around us. But that beatitude was given in the context of being poor in spirit and meek and so it is concerned with hungering and thirsting for righteousness within you, not around you.

Now I’m not talking about self-righteousness in terms of being proud of my good behavior that I think will earn me my salvation. No. That wrong kind of self-righteousness actually impedes spiritual growth because you think you’re already there, good enough for God. But when Jesus was saying you are blessed if you hunger and thirst for righteousness, he was talking about growing up in the Lord. In fact, When you are truly poor in spirit, mourning about the sins in your life and ready to repent, meek and willing to obey God’s commands, that is what creates the hunger and thirst for righteousness to grow in your character.

I’m talking about the process of sanctification that keeps me humble even though my character becomes more and more loving and gracious like Jesus. Do you hunger and thirst to become a more mature person? Do you have a deep longing to become someone one who loves your neighbors so well that they let you lead them to faith in Jesus?

Are you striving to forget what is behind and strain toward what is ahead, pressing on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called you heavenward in Christ Jesus? Do you eagerly desire the greater gifts that Paul talked about in 1 Corinthians 13?

Principle 5 in the Celebrate Recovery discipleship program says: Voluntarily submit to any and all changes God wants to make in my life and humbly ask Him to remove my character defects. The Bible verse that supports that is Matthew 5:6, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” Or as it reads in Today’s English Version, “Happy are those whose greatest desire is to do what God requires.”

Can you do an assessment of your spiritual maturity? May I see where you are in the process of developing spiritual maturity? Do you want to grow? Do you want to know how much you have grown and how far you could still go?

I’ll just give you 10 statements that come from an assessment tool in a book called Discipleshift. If it sounds like you talking, make a note of it. I think it best of you take out a piece of paper and write down numbers 1-10. Then for statement number one, if that sounds like something you think about or say, just put a check mark there by the number. I’ll tell you what it means later. You’re grading yourselves. I never have to see this, though of course I don’t mind if you share with me later.

Here come the statements:

1.I've been a good person, so when I die, everything will be okay. I'll take my chances with the big man upstairs.

2. There is no absolute right or wrong. If something's right for you, it might not be right for me, and vice versa.

3. I know Jesus is God, but isn't karma real too?

4. Trinity? Huh? Now you've got me confused.

5. I don't know if this church is meeting my needs anymore. Maybe I should go to a different church that does better.

6. Why do we have to learn new songs? I like the old hymns better.

7. In my devotions, I came across something I have a question about.

8. If I don’t see someone who is usually here with us, I call them to see if they're okay.

9. As a maturing disciple of Christ, I am on the lookout for people who don’t know the Lord, so I can tell them about Jesus, and also younger believers, so I can help them grow in the faith.

10. I wonder if God is leading me to invest in someone one to help them mature in their faith.

Ok now here’s what that means. Analysts have identified in general 5 major stages in Christian discipleship development. So right here and now in a very practical way, you get to see how far along you are in the process of developing the character of Christ in your life. You might think that the older you are, age wise, the more mature you must be spiritually. But that is not necessarily the case. You might remember that I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that for years the Church has been pretty good at making converts, or new believers. But it hasn’t been doing a great job of discipling them into mature believers who make new disciples. So, it is what it is and it’s not all your fault.

Ok so, you don’t have to remember the statements I just gave you. They ought to still be up there on the screen. As I go through meanings, just make a note of what the statements you marked say about you. Here come the meanings. 1-2 are the kinds of things that unbelievers say. They have no faith in the Christian God at all. I didn’t expect any of you would mark either of those, I just put them there because that’s part of the full spectrum. If you marked either of 3 or 4, that indicates a very young faith that has not yet learned much about the Bible. We call that a spiritual infant. If you marked 5 and or 6, you have learned what you like to have in church and it has blessed you. You’ve grown some because of it. But your faith is still sort of self-centered, the way a teenager thinks about things. A surprising number of today’s Christians are stuck here. If you marked either 7 or 8 or both, you are maturing and starting to let Jesus be in charge of your life. You could call yourself a young adult in the faith, you are wanting to press on, but not sure how to go about that and maybe think it just happens automatically, without any effort on your part, so, a lot of us are still stuck there too. Statements 9 and 10 represent very mature believers who are eager to make new disciples for Christ.

Whatever notes you made, that’s your private assessment. No judgement, no condemnation. But now that you see where you are, I only hope that this exercise has created in you a hunger and thirst to take the next step. And it is my hope, as your pastor, that I will be able to provide the materials and resources you need so that your hunger and thirst can be satisfied. I think you want to grow. And I want you to be filled, just as Jesus said you would be filled if you had that hunger and thirst for righteousness.

My part is to lead and mentor you to the best of my ability. My job is to do what Paul told Timothy to do in 2 Timothy 2:2. The things I have learned about the gospel and life in Christ, I am expected to entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others. Your part is to be that reliable person who wants to grow and to seek out the resources that will help you grow. In Philippians chapter 2, after Paul described Jesus and told his readers to follow that example, he finished by saying, “continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.” Work out your salvation is a description of being intentional about your spiritual growth, not to get saved, but because you already are saved! And did you see that God plays a part too? “It is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.” And Philippians 1:6 says, “be confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

Now I want to tell a story. Pastor Neil Anderson tells this story. For the Christian, true fulfillment in life can be summarized by the popular bumper sticker slogan, "Bloom where you're planted." Peter said it this way: "As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another" (1 Peter 4:10). Your greatest fulfillment in life will come when you discover your unique gifts and abilities and use them to edify others and glorify the Lord.

God allowed me to understand this vital principle before entering the ministry while I was still employed as an aerospace engineer. I knew God wanted me to be an ambassador for Him where I worked, so I started a breakfast Bible study in the bowling alley next door. My announcement about the Bible study had only been posted in our office about an hour before a Jewish fellow pulled it off the wall and brought it to me. "You can't bring Jesus in here," he objected.

"I can't do otherwise," I said. "Every day I walk in here Jesus comes in with me." He was not impressed with my response!

One of the men who found Christ in the Bible study took over when I left Honeywell to enter seminary. A few months later I went back to visit my friends in the Bible study. "Do you remember the Jewish fellow?" the leader asked.

"Sure, I remember him," I said, recalling his brash opposition to our Bible study.

"Well, he got sick and almost died. I went to the hospital and visited him every night. Finally, I led him to Christ."

I was ecstatic at the realization that I had become a spiritual grandparent. The sense of fulfillment was exhilarating. And it all happened because I started a simple little Bible study where I worked in order to do what Paul said: "Do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry" (2 Timothy 4:5).

Friends, this challenge to hunger and thirst for righteousness within is not meant to shame you in anyway but rather to encourage you! I want to inspire you with an eagerness to make disciples because it is the most rewarding thing you can do in this life. So here is the answer God gave me to my question. The questions was, “What does God want us to do today? If we’ve got the allegiance to Jesus and the heart’s desire to see the church grow, then we need to make new disciples. So, exactly how do we take action to carry on the mission today? Are we already doing the best we can, or are we missing something?

Surprisingly, the practical answer was, Matt 5:6, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” God wants us to hunger and thirst for growing Christ’s character in us because that is what will make us fish for other people to bless with the same knowledge of the gospel that has blessed us! Jesus forgives! Jesus saves! Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved to follow him and to become people who fish for other people today.

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[i] Discipleshift, by Jim Putnam & Bobby Harrington, Zondervan Publishing, 2013, p. 51.