T HE K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S (2 ) F o rsa k in g and Follow ing— “ F al low Me.” H ere speaks the King. He com m ands these disciples to follow Him. The seal of prophecy is upon Him, and He h a s th e rig h t to command. Born a t th e rig h t tim e (Dan. 2 :4 4 ), in the rig h t place (Micah 5 :2 ) ; b rough t out of Egypt (Hos. 11 :1 ) ; reared in Naza reth (Judges 1 3 :5 ); a prophet of Gali lee (Isa. 9 :1 -7 ); w ith the testimony of E lijah (Mai. 3 :1 ). “ Follow me” means “ come behind me.” F irs t He says unto men “Come unto Me.” They come for re st (Matt. 1 1 :2 8 ). Then He w ants them to come w ith Him for service. He goes before as a shepherd and they follow. (John 1 0 :4 ). “ If any man serve me, le t him follow me * * * if any man serve hie, him will my F a th e r honou r” (John 12 : 26 ) . Many follow Him w ithou t serving Him. M ultitudes followed Him be cause they saw the m iracles th a t He did (John 6 :2). Over and over again th e Gospel tells us th a t m u ltitud es fol lowed Him, crowding upon Him, yet He had bu t few real, tru e, dependable ser vants. (3) F ish ers of Men— “ I will make you fishers of men.” The call is clear, the service is speci fic. They had fished in th e w aters of the sea; now they were to fish in the sea of th e world. They were to tu rn from th e old to th e new ; they were to tak e men alive. The call was to an unselfish life. They were to find th e other man. As the Lord had sought them and found, them an d 'b ad e them follow; as P aul did who said, “ Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ” (1 Cor. 1 1 :1 ). The call was to a helpful life. The w aters of the world were full of men who needed so much to know of the rest th a t was to be found in Him. They were to be rew arded. They should take men, and men should con-
939 stitu te jewels in th e ir crown. (1 Thess. 2 : 2 0 ). It was a divine call to duty; a fbl- lowing in fellowship w ith th e ir Lord; in a service of sorrow and suffering; de m anding self-sacrifice a n d self-abase m ent; b u t it was to be a holy, helpful work in th e doing of which th e ir own souls were to be enlarged and enriched, and th e ir Master honored. The most wonderful work in the world is th a t of fishing for men. Luke 5:12 has it “ thou sh a lt catch men.” . A careful study will show th a t the essen tials needed in fishing for fish corre spond exactly to those needed in soul saving. H ere are a few of th e requ ire ments: (1) Knowledge. The successful fish erm an m ust know th e characteristics of the fish, th e ir haun ts and habits of life. This can only be acquired by study. So we m ust know men. There are th ree sources of knowledge in th e study of m en ;— yourself, your fellow and the Word of God. The Bible perfectly de lineates th e character of mankind. (2 ) Love fo r th e Work. F ishing is work. It is often a recreation, but every real fisherman finds fishing a labor. F o r th is reason and because it is often hard, tiresome and unsuccessful work, many people do not care for it: You m u st love th e lost souls of men or you will ilever be one of Christ’s trvie followers. If you are no t catching men it is because you do not have th e love of Christ in any large m easure in your h eart. Ponder th is carefully for it must be true. H is love never changes. He. loved and loves th e lost, (Matt. 9 :3 6 ). “But when he saw the m ultitudes, he was moved w ith compassion on them b e cause they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.” His love developed in you will compel you to love them . (3 ) Equipm ent. A fisherman needs th e boat, bait, n et and tackle,-—accord ing to th e kind of fish and place of fish-
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