Fishers of men………

“When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m too much of a sinner to be around you.”

For he was awestruck by the number of fish they had caught, as were the others with him.   His partners, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were also amazed.

Jesus replied to Simon, “Don’t be afraid! From now on you’ll be fishing for people!”  And as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus.”                 Luke  5:8-11 NLT

For most people that would have been one of the greatest days of their lives. They had a great fish story to tell their friends the next day at the market, all of the people watching would want to know what it was like so they would have gained popularity.  What an amazing day.  

On top of that they had truly found the Messiah, this long awaited Redeemer. They had recognized Jesus for who He was in astonishment. Imagine the moment as Peter turned around and fell before Christ in humble fear.

Jesus speaks a statement that would completely change Peter, James and John’s lives forever.  “Don’t be afraid, I want you to come with me now and be fishers of men.”

Once they were confronted with the power and reality of Jesus He asked for their whole life, nothing less.  Basically He was saying, “…you trusted Me for fish, now trust Me for everything.”

On that day they had their best day ever doing what they do best Jesus calls them to leave it all behind.  With no ‘what if’s or buts’ this time they left everything, fully devoted to following Jesus.

The interesting thing about Jesus is that He does not want to give you a good story; He wants to transform your life.  Your choice to obey Him will only lead to you giving up more of your life for Him.  It’s not about church on Sunday’s and not swearing anymore.  There is so much more to Christianity than that.

Jesus will call you to leave what you know, like Peter’s boat, and everything you know to do when He calls you to do it.  It is tough, but that is when you begin to experience the life more abundant like Christ speaks about in John 10:10.  

Our Messiah is not like a thief taking away your fun He wants you to know life like it was meant to be experienced.  Look at what happened with Peter. Jesus took a loud mouth fisherman and made him into the pioneer of the early church. 

How many of you have tasted that fullness of life?  

The level of your devotion will directly affect the level of fullness you have in your life.