Fishing for Men: An Invitation and a Promise

I do want to just kind of do a recap I do that I like to do that it helps me kind of stay on track of where we've been for the month of May um and I'm going to be honest and if you've ever heard me Teach before then you know that I I have those let me be honest moments when I got this topic I was a little concerned honestly because it was for the whole month and I thought can I teach on this topic and then I look and I find out that there are five Wednesdays instead of four in the month of May so I'm thinking H okay um fissures of men Five Lessons and the more I tell you what thank you Jesus the more I would dig in and the more I study it's like okay there it is I I get a little bit more so my prayer is that I can relay to you what God lays on my heart so uh Fishers of Men um so the last two Wednesdays we have Ted talked about obeying the call to follow Jesus obeying his voice which begins with salvation we have talked about loving as Jesus commanded that you know we've got to love Jesus and and love others the way we love ourselves if we're going to be a disciple a follower of Jesus we've got to listen and obey his voice and his commands we talked about remaining steadfast in this journey uh no matter what comes good or bad Jesus is faithful and we've got to remain steadfast we need to be faithful to him being devoted to Fellowship as demonstrated by the early church just even here tonight just gathering together and and and having conversations and fellowship even before church gets started that's a good thing then we come together in this room and then and throughout CAC and the other classes we're all coming together and that's part of Fellowship who enjoys Fellowship now I know we typically like fellowship with food and we do that too so but that's something that the early church they believed in and that's what they did and they demonstrated that for us and that's what we need to continue to do we need to look at their example even today and then we talked about being more than a follower uh being a disciple not just a follower and we kind of had the contrast between uh social media and how many people have how many followers well well just because you have a following doesn't mean that you know you you're doing what that person says you're just following them uh if we're going to follow Jesus we need to be his disciple we need to be obedient to him submit to him and I talked also about how those words aren't necessarily good in 2024 a lot of people look down on words like obedience and submission or Surrender it's a they think of it as something negative but when we're talking about Jesus when we're talking about being obedient to him and surrendering to his word and living by his word that's a good thing and that's what we're called to do tonight I have to watch the time um I want to start out with uh turning your attention to the Book of Matthew uh chapter 4 and verse 18- 22 going to talk briefly just for a minute right now about an invitation and a promise and Jesus that was Matthew 4:1 18-22 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 and he sath unto them follow me and I will make you Fishers of Men and they straightway left their Nets and followed him and going on from then 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 and they immediately left the ship and their father and followed him so you got four ordinary fishermen they are concluding their day's work this is what they do they're on the Sea of Galilee they're fishermen Andrew and Simon they're both the sons of Jonah as well as James and John they're both the sons of Zebedee so you got two pairs of brothers and they're fishermen all four but how did their spiritual journey begin how does this start Jesus walks up to them he he compels them to follow enlists him them as his disciples from that point on they forsake everything and follow him but how did it happen how did it start when Jesus says follow me and I will make you fissures of men that's a promise I'm going to do this if you follow me so that's the first thing he does he approaches the fisherman and he invites them to follow him then he promises to transform them into Fishers of Men now he didn't go up and promise them something he didn't promise them some package deal like hey you come follow me I'm going to you're going to get a brand new boat out of this you follow me and you're going to have top pay and you're going to you know get three weeks paid vacation and all the sick days he didn't H he didn't he didn't offer up some you know beautiful enticing package deal he said one follow me two I'll make you Fishers of Men and three they followed him immediately and just in the moment and I and that's amazing to me because how many have been inviting or talking to someone about Jesus for a long time and it's like I have and you think my goodness these men just they dropped everything and there they went immediately followed him he doesn't add Jesus didn't add anything enticing he didn't make any U any kind of promise is about how easy it was going to be and oh you're this is going to be so much fun you we're all going to work together we're going to hang out and you know it's just going to be a blast no it was follow me and I will make you fishes of men and immediately they followed him so from the start Jesus makes their role very clear the disciples are to follow him and return he's going to mold them and he's going to change them transform them see pursuing Jesus following Jesus it comes with a cost and it cost them something that day now we have to remember I think sometimes at least in my mind when I first think about the all the disciples I think of them as a little bit older but when they were starting out they were young they were the young men young I mean maybe they were even late teens I don't know but they were not older so they're young and then I think well were they just curious like what's what's going to happen let's just let's just follow Jesus and find out I honestly think there was something so compelling about Jesus that they knew this is what we've been searching for and they immediately wanted to to follow him but it cost them something they understood they needed to relinquish everything in order to follow Jesus these four men just didn't abandon some uh not making minimizing this job but they were not just at a summer job at a little grocery store or you know at a a part-time job at a fast food restaurant this could have very well been their livelihood it could have been a family business it could have been everything that they had or would ever have and they walked away from that to follow Jesus it could have been the source of income for their families or their future families but they dropped everything to follow Jesus that's how compelling it what they were and they felt to follow this man Jesus so all their possessions if they had much we don't really know but whatever they did have they were willing to lay it down just to be a follower of Jesus not fully comprehending what they were going to do what this journey was going to look like they didn't know they had no idea really what they were what it was going to be like what this life was going to be like but for them the act of following Jesus and the promise he extended to them was worth it all they were ready excuse me ready to drop everything it was worth following this voice that called them to in his name is Jesus so where do we stand today if you look at our life if you look at your own personal life we know that we're on this journey with Jesus but are we still willing to relinquish everything just to continue to follow Jesus have we lost that excitement are we still excited to follow Jesus I've talked about how we can become somewhat complacent we can kind of get comfortable uh in what we do coming to church and and all and and that is important we come to church we need the fellowship we need to be fed we need we need to worship together we get encouragement from that but are we still excited to really follow Jesus and to be his disciple to share the gospel to share the good news of Jesus because that's what we've been called to do once we've answered that call to follow him and we've uh obeyed The Plan of Salvation it doesn't stop there we talked about that a couple of weeks ago we don't plateau and say well I you know I did this check this off the list I've repented I've been baptized I received the Holy Ghost I'm set no that's that's literally the beginning that is your launching pad that is where that's where you start so and we all want to be effective in God's kingdom and I don't want to personally ever grow comfortable in just doing kind of the routine thing go to CH we go to church on Wednesday go to church on Sunday there's prayer there's special services there's different things that go on throughout the week and we're involved in that and we can sometimes feel like it's complete but there's so much more we cannot get so comfortable that we forget that we have to share Jesus with a lost world that's part of our responsibility and I have to check myself there I've got to make sure that I am not just checking a list of things that I do uh that they're good things they're not bad things I love coming to church I love worshiping with my church family but I need to share the gospel there's a lost world outside these walls outside these doors there is a world lost who if we don't tell them about Jesus who will we've got to be reaching reaching all the time uh Jesus called four fishermen so to to follow him we we just said that and he's going to transform them he's going to change them to fissures of men but I now want to um turn your attention to the Book of John chapter 1 and verse 35-42 again the next day after John stood and two of his disciples and looking Upon Jesus as he walked he sath Behold the Lamb of God God and the two disciples heard him speak and they followed Jesus then Jesus turned and he saw them following and said unto them what seek ye and they said unto him Rabbi which is to say being interpreted Master where dwellest thou he said unto them come and see they came and saw where he dwelt and Abode with him that day for it was about the 10th hour one of the two which heard John speak and followed him was Andrew Simon Peter's brother brother he first findeth his own brother Simon and said unto him we have found the Messiah which is being interpreted the Christ and he brought him to Jesus and when Jesus beheld him he said Thou Art Simon the son of Jonah Thou shalt be called sephus which is in by interpretation a stone which is Peter also so In this passage of scripture we witness John the Baptist proclaiming to disciples that Jesus is the Lamb of God now two of these disciples are going to follow Jesus and they're going to spend the entire day with him we see where Andrew introduces Jesus to his brother Simon and I love the fact that upon meeting Simon that Jesus looks at him and changes his name immediately it's like your name's Peter now Peter means the meaning of Peter is a stone or a rock now while Simon originates from the Hebrew root meaning to hear so in an instant Jesus transforms Peter from being a mere listener into someone of weight within his kingdom Simon meaning here and changes his name to Peter meaning R and that to me is powerful because when we get into the presence of Jesus when we have an encounter with Jesus we begin to change things about us begin to change or they're supposed to we're supposed to transform into something that Jesus wants us to be and here Peter gets his name changed and there's no accidents there Jesus does nothing by accident and we find ourselves sometimes in the point of in our relationship with Christ where overall we may what we find ourselves doing is we do a lot of list listening we do a lot of listening don't we there's nothing wrong because when we listen we learn but things have to change we need to be a doer we want to be something of weight something that carries weight in the kingdom of God something that's going to make a difference in the kingdom of God and I think that's what this really part of this scripture what that means is Jesus knew when he saw Peter Peter didn't see that in himself he didn't go around calling these young men to be disciples because there was anything spectacular about them he saw Beyond them he saw what they could be when Jesus called you and I it wasn't because we were anything special but he looked beyond who we were what we had done and where we had been and he saw what we could be if we would just obey that voice to come follow him and become his disciple and it's powerful when we have an encounter with Jesus he changes us and I'm thankful I'm thankful that I'm not what I used to be I don't know about you but I'm thankful for the mercy and the grace and the love of Jesus that he could see beyond all my faults all my mistakes all my mess ups and he says I'm going to call you regardless in spite of who you are because I see you as someone different and that's the way he feels about everyone that he calls uh at that time and I'm talking about the time new test time here uh there were many techniques of fishing already established during that time honestly I didn't know that I just figured it was really just the net so I actually learned something baited Hooks could be thrown I that surprised me I don't know why a troll a troll could be cast to the required depth and then a net of course could be deployed en closed by pulling a rope now but in all three of those methods that they used for fishing there was one thing that they had to have each one of those methods and that was a weight and most of the time that weight was a rock the net needs that weight to fully un furl unfold when it's cashed through the air and it causes that weight causes it to sink into the water and maintain that desired uh position that the fisherman wants right so typically stones or rocks were used for that it provided the necessary weight for the net so Jesus shifted Peter from being that listener that I just talked about to becoming one that was a weight because Peter means Rock one that would bestow a weight upon the net to enable it to open descend and enclose a large amount of fish and I got to reading that and I thought and and studying and I thought you know

that made me think of another scripture Matthew chapter 16 and verse 18 and I say also unto thee that thou art Peter and up on this rock I will build my church and the Gates of Hell shall not Prevail against it see the Lord can position you to be a pivotal element in his work today you can be something that carries weight in his kingdom when we obey his voice to be his follower to become his disciple he'll change you and you will have influence you will be able to be a witness and you will carry weight in his kingdom just like Peter someone is there anyone that wants to carry weight in the kingdom of God oh come on I this really hit me you know I it's not that I had never heard any of this talk or preached before but when you really get into it and you dive into it you think there are just no accidents are there in the word of God God knows exactly what he's doing when he called him Peter and just the moment he met him he knew exactly what was going to play out he knew exactly what was going to happen and I love that I love that I get a little excited if you can't tell but it is it's just to me it's amazing that Jesus has this plan and not only does he h did he have a plan for Peter he has a plan for each and every one of us we are all a part of his kingdom and you know a lot of times we think well we think Ministry oh my goodness it means it means a a title or a position that's not it at all those things are good we we need the preachers the evangelists the missionaries the teachers all the things that's great but when you're called to follow him you're his disciple and that responsibility to share Jesus Christ to all those around you that falls on you are we answering that call every single day I want to serve in his kingdom it's not it goes beyond the pull pit the podium the platform True Discipleship is out there with the people that you rub shoulders with every single day it's someone at the coffee shop it's someone at the restaurant it's someone at the grocery store you know it's it's someone at work or at at school wherever you may be within your own family whoever you can connect with we went on a um prayer walk a couple weeks ago for um National Day of Prayer and there are people everywhere downtown and I remember telling a few just you know make eye contact and smile say hello and you know there were opportunities that I had to talk to people and we've got to look for it sometimes that's nothing on me but we've got to look for because there are people how easily we can just bypass people and not even look at them not even make eye contact and I think what if I've just passed someone that was just desperately needing to hear Jesus loves you just waiting for somebody I don't want to ever bypass somebody that needs to hear about Jesus that was all that was not my notes so let me let me get back or we will run out of time um

in the New Testament we encounter the account of when Jesus calls seven of his 12 disciples we got Peter Andrew John James Matthew Philip and Nathaniel now Jesus instructs the four fishermen as we've said to follow him and we know that he's made the promise to transform them so to Matthew and philli Jesus simply says follow me but Nathaniel comes along and there's it's a little bit different when uh we can read about that in John The Book of John chapter 1 uh verse 43 3 through 51 the day following Jesus the day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee and findeth Phillip and Sith unto him follow me now Philip was of Betha the city of Andrew and Peter Philip findeth Nathaniel and said unto him we have found him of whom Moses and the law and the prophets did right Jesus of Nazareth the son of Joseph and Nathaniel said unto him can there any good thing come out of Nazareth and Philip said unto him come and see Jesus saw Nathaniel coming to him and said of him behold an Israelite indeed in whom is no gu Nathaniel said unto himh knowest thou me Jesus answered and said unto him before that Philip called thee when thou was under the Fig Tree I saw thee and Nathaniel answered and said unto him Rabbi Thou Art the Son of God Thou Art the king of of Israel Jesus answered and said unto him because I said unto thee I saw thee under the Fig Tree believest thou Thou shalt see greater things than these and he said unto him verily verily I say unto you Hereafter ye shall see Heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the son of man now it's noteworthy here to uh that Jesus labels Nathaniel a genuine isra Israelite and then Nathaniel turns around and calls Jesus the king of Israel that demonstrates that Jesus knows people he let Nathaniel know I saw you and the same goes for you and I just like I said a while ago I might have jumped ahead just a little bit he knows us he knows everyone individually he knows everything about us and sometimes that might make us like kind of cringe because we know everything about us too and sometimes that's like oh but you know that's the beautiful thing about Jesus is he knows and he still loves us he knows and he still wants us to be a part of his kingdom and I'm thinking why would I deny him that if he knows the real meses and he still loves me and I think about how he died for me and he died for everybody and I think about how he took on the sins of the whole world World an innocent man innocent of all things no no wrong in him he loved all Humanity from the beginning and those that are not even here yet and he took on every sin of every person that would ever be that's his love for us how could we deny being his follower yet there's a world full of people that have have decided not to but I say keep shining that light like keep telling others about Jesus because you know what we're not going to give up we're going to keep on family members friends that you've been working with I keep pressing on keep praying for them keep inviting keep talking about Jesus it's going to make a difference it is going to make a difference the Lord knows us he knows each of us and he did not make a mistake have you ever felt like well he what am I doing here oh I do it sometimes like I'm like what am I literally doing right here like in this this right here why because the enemy wants us to think that we're not worthy to be called by Jesus that Jesus doesn't love us Jesus can't use me Jesus can't do this I'm a nobody but we cannot give ear to the enemy we need to shut his mouth for him you know because I can do all things through Christ that gives me strength and that's what we need to Proclaim are you nervous about being a witness going and and and giving your testimony to somebody are you nervous you can do all things through Christ that gives you strength when Jesus Promised Nathaniel that he would see even greater things we can say with confidence that he kept that promise and Nathaniel did and the other disciples they saw so many great things by being connected to Jesus Jesus and the same goes for us we could go around this room right now and we could have testimonies of things that God has done in our lives and we have seen the greater things we've seen healings I am I've received his healing you've had Miracles maybe Financial Miracles miracles in your home your family your children your marriage the list could go on and on we have Miracles we see these things coming and we're going to see greater things that should excite us that we're going to see greater things happen when we obey the voice of Jesus we follow him just as he promised Nathaniel we're going to see great things greater magnitude of anything that we've ever experienced and that gives me hope that gives me hope that we're going to see lost loved ones come in co-workers friends family they're going to come in and they're going to be saved they're going to be filled with the Holy Ghost and that excites me that gives me hope um

moving on let's talk about fear for just a minute Luke chap 5 uh 1 through 11 it came to pass that as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God he stood by the the lake of jarat and saw two ship standing by the lake but the fishermen were gone out of them and were washing their Nets and he entered into one of the ships this is Jesus which was Simon's and prayed him that he would Thrust out a little from the land hand and he sat down and taught the people out of the ship now when he had left speaking he said unto Simon launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a draft or a catch and Simon answering said unto him Master we have toiled all night and have taken nothing nevertheless at Thy word I will let down the net and when they had done this they enclosed a great multitude of fishes and their net break and they beckoned unto their partners which were in the other ship that they should come and help them and they came filled both ships so they began to sink when Simon Peter saw it he fell down at jesus' knees saying depart from me for I am a sinful man oh Lord for he was astonished and all that were with him at the drought of the fishes which they had taken and so was also James and John the sons of Zebedee which were partners with Simon and Jesus said unto Simon Fe Fe not from henceforth this moment Thou shalt catch men and when they had brought their ships to land they forsook all and followed him when there is a revelation of Jesus see Peter had a revelation of Jesus and who he really was in that moment because I could almost feel and I think we talked about this the first Wednesday night all almost how tired he was you know Master we've done this all night I know what I'm doing this is what I do and I didn't catch anything but nevertheless to nevertheless is what we need to pay attention to because sometimes you're like but I've invited them to church time and time again I've prayed for them I've witnessed to them and Jesus is saying but go do this do it one more time and we our response should be well nevertheless Les I'm going to tell them one more time cuz maybe that one more time is all it's going to take and look at the rewards of obeying the voice of Jesus they had so many fish that it almost it was started to sink two boats although they had been doing this all night long had come up empty-handed just because they obeyed Jesus that one time this is one last time just one time just go ahead one more time and cast the Nets over here okay nevertheless I'm tired I really want to go home I'm I'm going to go to bed I just I I'm done I've done this all night I'm exhausted but because it's you Jesus I'm going to do it I'm going to obey and the rewards that come from obedience we talked about the rewards of being obedient that's it we never know that one time that we just say no I'm not doing it what if we're missing out on the miracle there's a miracle in the water just waiting to happen but it's going to take some obedient disciples to say you know what I don't see how it's going to happen I've done it this way forever I keep trying but he told me to do it so I'm going to cast one more time and oh my goodness what do you get you get Revival you get revivals of prodigals that are coming home you get Revival of of your lost loved ones that you didn't know that would ever walk through those doors and come into the altar that's what we get we get to see that baptismal a line of people waiting to be baptized I'm going to be obedient to Jesus I don't know it could be that one last time I'm tired I'm tired but I'm going to do it because you told me to Jesus nevertheless at Thy word I'm going to let down the net I'm going to do it so but sometimes sometimes that fear that uh he tells Peter fear not but you know Peter wasn't his fear didn't come from the task he was a fisherman so casting the net that was not the fear his fear came from realizing who he was in the presence of because when he saw that Miracle happen when he saw those the fish the amount of fish a a larger amount of fish than he had ever caught before sinking the ships that they had he understood he had been with Jesus but I think that's when he had a revelation oh my goodness I'm not worthy to be in your presence Turn Away From Me Jesus but Jesus told him from this moment From This Moment you're going to be Fishers of Men and we know how all this starts to play out and it's miraculous but it's and it's beautiful but it starts with obedience obeying that V voice of Jesus when he tells us to do something stepping out and sometimes fear paralyzes us is it fear of because we don't feel worthy possibly is it fear because we don't know if we witness to somebody are they going to ask me a question something about Revelations and the end of time and the Beast and all the things I don't know I don't know that you know what I have found if somebody ask you a question and you don't know you know what it's okay to do I don't know let me let let's look this up together or let's let me find out it's okay not to know everything but you know what the most important message is to share Jesus start with Jesus every single time you know why because that's the gospel that's what they need they need Jesus they don't need to know about the beast and all the things and Revelations they just need to calm down and they need to get to know Jesus first they need Jesus first okay before we start breaking down Revelation I can't do that okay I know enough oh never mind we're not even going to go there but anyway so don't fear fear is a Liar song reference uh uh it is a liar and we know who the the father of Lies is so anytime you feel fear of any kind you know that doesn't come from God so we've got to resist that and step out in faith and say nevertheless because you said so Jesus I'm going to do this I'm going to do this so don't fear

so advancing into the story about three years later okay on the day of Pentecost after the disciples were all filled with the Holy Ghost Peter cast the net and he got another miraculous catch don't you just love how all kind of just comes together Peter gets his name changed to The Rock The Rock I have grandchildren grandson okay the rock okay no I digress stop anyway Lord Jesus anyway so day of Pentecost they've all got the Holy Ghost but here Peter his name has been changed and we know about the scripture about I'm going to build my church upon this Rock and anyway the things are happening and we see this in the book of Acts chapter 2 verse 40 and 41 and with many other words did he testify and exhort saying save yourselves from this UNT generation then they that gladly received his word were baptized and the same day there were added unto them about 3,000 souls in that day Lord I don't understand understand but nevertheless I'm going to do this I'm going to step out and they had experienced something they had never experienced before they had just received the Holy Ghost this power something they they didn't under they didn't understand it they're all they're new to this see we we have the Bible we have all this we have preachers and teachers and people pouring into us and we've been taught this stuff they're living this real time this is them and we're talking about them now 2024 they're experiencing this for the very first time can you imagine how exciting that that really truly was and and to see 3,000 souls and that lets us know right there that Jesus kept his promise when he told Peter that you're going to be Fishers of Men when he told those disciples you're going and they I don't think they really understood fully and completely what he might have been talking about at the time but I can just IM imagine their eyes start to open at what's really happening everything that they had gone through with Jesus everything that they had watched and witnessed and then they start seeing this outpouring this powerful outpouring of God's spirit and just seeing all the things that are happening in 3,000 souls and I'd be excited so we cannot be fearful we cannot be fearful of of reject jection there be there are going to be people that are going to turn away from you when you try to witness to them but do it anyway do it anyway because we don't know and not only that I've said it before a couple weeks ago someone's always watching you may be talking to your coworker and they may not be interested but the other person may be like hey but I am so just keep sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ act in accordance with the Master's command and cast The Net in Jesus name every time you know maybe you know I don't give homework but let's just say that I did maybe let's call it a challenge is that right is that a good word between now and next Wednesday nobody's going to have to report um but just make it a goal five people five people it could be a stranger it could be someone that you've talked to before about church or or talked about Jesus you've witnessed to them or it could be just somebody that you've passed and it's just like the perfect opportunity something have you ever been around that some stranger and just it's like an open door it's like oh I can talk about Jesus right here but look for five opportunities five people that you can share Jesus with maybe it's a prodigal that you just say you know I'm not reached out to that person in a while or maybe it's a friend or a loved one that has never had the hly Holy Ghost but maybe it's been a while since you've invited them to church or or talked to them just just try stranger at the store you never know just be open and aware I think if we're intentional and we look for opportunities to witness I Think Jesus is going to be like boom there you go because we want to share the gospel we're looking for opportunities I want to find someone to share Jesus with so any takers I mean just five people three people five between now you got a whole week think about it reach out to somebody and what if that person you decide to to open up to or or share with or or reach out to they're like I'm so glad you asked me to church I think I'll come I mean don't act too surprised don't act too shocked like really don't do that but just be I mean Jesus is moving he will honor our faithfulness he will honor our effort and I believe that we will see Souls come in um I wasn't planning on this but I remember a few years back there was um a friend that I I went to school with um wasn't raised in an Apostolic church and kind of had gotten way drifted out into some things it was just a little dark and whatever and anyway doesn't live around here doesn't live in the state of Tennessee so I knew he would never come to CAC but it became real heavy on my heart and I began to pray for him and really pray for him and I uh I felt like he was in a dark place and and then because of social media because of Facebook I could kind of keep tabs and all of a sudden I started seeing a transformation the next thing I know he's going to an Apostolic church and then the next thing I know he's baptized in Jesus name I kept praying and I'm thinking I mean shocked but not shocked you know what I mean and then I watch he's been filled with the Holy Ghost and I promise you I think he's kind of like a modern day John the Baptist he's had he said he had a Damascus Road kind of experience he was in a dark place he was getting ready to do something very very bad what if I and I'm not saying I was the only one there could have been other people but what if I just said he's a lost cause he's way out there I don't even know and just turned my back he has baptized people he has in the streets homeless people that's where his heart is he has seen 53 people filled with the Holy Ghost in the last three years because of him just being on the street sharing the gospel it can happen we have got to get out of our shell and our comfort zone a place of complacency and realize that if we will just pray if we will just reach if we will just open up our mouths and talk about Jesus God moves some of those people may never walk into this church but we want them to know Jesus we want them to be filled with the power of the Holy Ghost but we have got to be obedient we've got to answer that call to follow him to be a true disciple and that means sharing Jesus with the world that needs him and I don't even know if I'm going to be able to finish all this tonight oh W I always think that I don't have enough material and then I get up here and it's like oh my goodness but I I got excited I get excited when I think about people's lives being trans form because Jesus came on the scene because he looked at me he looked at you and said oh but I see something that you don't see I want you to come follow me and then we can turn our world upside down and and we can you need to raise your hand right now and say Jesus I want to turn my world upside down your world may seem a little small but Lord I want to turn it upside down my family Lord I want to turn my family upside down for you Jesus I want them to have a revelation of who you are this is too good to keep to ourselves we need to get excited about Jesus again and don't please don't misunderstand me but an excitement that goes beyond a Sunday service or a Wednesday night or some special event we need this excitement every single day Lord help me on Monday morning I have some laughter in the the audience but really you know Monday morning A lot of people are like oh my goodness I feel like I'm dragging but let's get excited Jesus I don't know what's outside the door when I when I get there I don't know what's at work I don't know what's going to greet me for this day but you go before me you make a way you you order my steps I believe if we would start out our day intentionally praying God lead me to somebody lead someone to me show me I believe that we can see an an absolute Revival of souls people coming in into uh being filled with the Holy Ghost who wants to see that who does it do your heart good when somebody goes down in the baptism does it do your heart good when you see somebody being filled with the Holy Ghost for the first time goodness do you remember how it felt yourself it's awesome it's amazing and we want that to happen we want to share this with the world so share Jesus is this at 750 7:50 kind of okay I'm afraid to get going into in another dive in because then they're all going to open the doors and and just you know make me stop and I just go ahead just go ahead but it is wonderful I think how when we connect the dots of these stories even just talking about Peter and and we start getting a a sharper picture a clearer image of what really is going on how Jesus starts calling just ordinary guys just doing their job I wonder what they really thought when it was all said and done we know we're not going to get into the the lives of all the disciples but we know how most of that ended for them we know the things that they were faced with but you know what they never quit they never stopped with all the things that they were faced with the persecution that came sister SLO they never stop why because Jesus is worth it all he's worth everything that you will give up he's worth everything you'll lay down you know sometimes we just reflect on oh well you know this or that no let's look let's look forward let's look up because and this is what it's all about we want to make Heaven our home we want to be with Jesus for eternity and we want to take people with us we want to uh at the end of the his Earthly Ministry Jesus opens the disciples eyes and unveils the extent of the mission to which he has called them he not only sends them to Jerusalem the city where they were but also into the entire Province to the surrounding regions and even to the ends of the world and before departing Jesus assures the disciples that they will not accomplish this in their own strength we can't do this on our own we can't we need Jesus but through the power of the Holy Ghost everybody say holy ghost through the power of the Holy Ghost he tells them that that's going to give you the strength that you need you're going to be able to do that you're going to be more than conquerors you're going to be Overcomers because of the power of the Holy Ghost and that he's going to be with them always and aren't you glad Jesus Is With Us now he's not dead he's not in a grave he's not on a cross he's preparing us a home that I believe it's not going to be very long we're going to be called home heaven is real and it's getting closer but we have work to do so I'm going to share Jesus are you going to share Jesus I'm going to share Jesus let's all share Jesus with a world that needs him this world need if my goodness if this world could only see and only know who our Jesus is but what if it's you that's going to tell them about him what if they're waiting on you so the next time you see somebody make up your mind I'm sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ let's just stand right now let's just lift our hands let's just thank God for his word for his truth and let's all just worship him right now Lord we thank you for your word we thank you Jesus that you are here right now God oh God we want to be Fishers of men Lord we want to be Soul winners for you Jesus we want to let our light shine for you Jesus we thank you Jesus we thank you Jesus let's just take another second and receive what we've heard tonight I want to internalize that I want to leave with uh with conviction in my heart that I you know can do that and and just follow the plan of God so could you just for a few more seconds as we're gathering in from our classes let's take a moment and just love on him and in your own way and in the way that you know how to talk to him would you take a second and talk to him for a moment and would you ask him to help you to do the will of the father Jesus we love you God we thank you for your grace thank you Lord Jesus that you have a plan and purpose God that you have a desire to use us Lord in these times that we're living in God I pray that you'd help us to become Lord the Church of the hour Jesus help us to be ready Lord help us to pursue your will and your purpose Jesus God let us not turn aside from it Lord let us be willing to say yes when you call our names God when you call upon us Jesus to share your words God to share your message I pray you'd help us help us father help us Lord to be hungry help us God to not be complacent in Jesus name in Jesus name in Jesus name your kingdom come Lord let our kingdom go Jesus let our desires God be subjected Lord to your will and your desire and your purpose in Jesus name we thank you for it Lord we thank you God that you trust us thank you Lord that you can trust us Lord with your purpose and plan God that you want to involve Us in it Lord we're humble Jesus God amazed that your Works Jesus and that you want to do through US thankful Lord God just to play a part in it Jesus just to be in your kingdom God and to do your work in Jesus name I thank you for it I give you glory Jesus Hallelujah Jesus thank you