The Great Commission of Fishing for Men

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1 Today's topic: Fishing for Men
In the world, if there is one greatest person, it is the Lord Jesus. If there is the greatest book, it is the Bible! If there is the greatest disciple in the world, it is Peter! If there is the greatest, noblest doctrine in the world, it is the doctrine of love taught by the Lord Jesus. If there is the greatest career or profession, it is leading people to the Lord Jesus, transforming a mortal into a divine being! It is turning a helpless person into someone who not only has hope for themselves but also gives hope to others! Not only can they do what ordinary people can do, but they can also do what ordinary people cannot do! Not only can they live out dignity, power, and glory on earth, but they can also live out dignity, power, and glory in the spiritual world! Is there a greater career in this world? There is none!
This career is the business of fishing for men! My dream is to fish for men! I also dream that the dreams of our brothers and sisters are the same as mine! That is the treasure that God is looking for! God does not like people to be ordinary. God wants everyone to be divine. There is no point in fighting with people! Even if you win, it is meaningless. To fight with demons, to be able to overcome, to be able to release people from the bondage of the devil, that is the treasure!
Let me reveal a heartfelt thought that I have kept in my heart for a long time. Back in 1981, when I took the university entrance exam, my teacher, Mr. Ding Wenyou, who is now 76, was the one who suggested that I apply to Beihang University. Originally, I had applied to Harbin Institute of Technology. If that had been the case, I would not have met my wife. I have to thank God and also thank Mr. Ding. Later, my score was only one point above the admission score, not wasting even a single point. Strangely, although I entered a prestigious university, there was a knot in my heart. For ten years, from 1981 to 1991, I lived in a black and white world. At that time, I never understood one question, which was, what do I live for? It would be better to die. Nothing seemed to have meaning. Just living. By 1991, before I knew the Lord Jesus, this feeling had reached its peak. I began to seek God! Without God, there was no hope of living. That was the first time I walked into a church, knowing nothing, and they led me to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Although I was a bit repulsed at the time, what was amazing, do you know? When I walked out of the church, I strongly felt that the world had become colorful! How beautiful! Later, I kept going to church, until today! As a result, fishing for men became my dream!
Today, I know that the decadence I felt back then was a strong, sacred dissatisfaction, a feeling that led me to seek the meaning of living! To find out what living is all about. As a result, God was already there waiting for me to seek Him! The change it brought was a sacred change! Becoming a person who fishes for men!
Today, if there is anyone among us who feels that there is no hope in living, that living has no meaning, just like I did in the beginning, then I want to tell you good news: you are about to fish for men! Come, follow me, let us together take on the mission of this generation and be people who fish for men! If there are those among us who feel that they are living well, I challenge you to do some research. You don't have to go far. Just look at those closest to you, and you will know your future! Look at those seventy or eighty-year-olds, that is a picture of your future! You haven't figured out what living is all about; you are just living in a daze. You must understand!

The Mystery and Mission of Living

In my past years, I have spent a lot of time studying what living is all about. I have discovered a mystery of living. I have two findings: first, the spiritual realm is very real. Although fortune-telling is not endorsed by Christianity, it is a matter of the spiritual realm. The predicted fate is actually very accurate. But the problem is that only Jesus Christ can change fate. This is what I was originally looking for: a God who can change fate. Later, through my hands, God changed the fate of many people! Second, the feeling of living is key. If the feeling is not good, nothing else matters! Believing in Jesus Christ brings out the best feeling! It is simply a feeling from heaven!
Pastors do two things: first, change fate—poverty becomes wealth, sickness becomes health, confusion becomes purpose, foolishness becomes wisdom, chaos becomes clarity! Bad becomes good! Second, bring good feelings to people! Entanglement becomes joy, discouragement becomes hope, hatred becomes love! And then change people into those who fish for men! Tell me, is there any career better than this?
It is that gaining anything in this world, the joy passes quickly! But to gain people, to bring them to the Lord Jesus, to rely on God's great power to transform their lives, to bring them from despair to prosperity, what joy that is! That is a sacred joy! Having walked the path of service, I have no regrets at all. I have not gained anything materially, but I have gained many people! Gained much joy! Gained God Himself! God Himself lives in me.
I encourage everyone to know that God calls you to follow Him not just to live well, but to be a blessing to all nations! To be people who fish for men!
Tell the person next to you, you are about to fish for men!
Today's topic is Fishing for Men, from Matthew 4:19-20 in the Bible.
Let's look at today's scripture.
2 Today's Scripture: Matthew 4:19-20
Come, follow me, Jesus said, and I will make you fishers of men. At once they left their nets and followed him.
3 Prayer – To Follow the Lord Jesus
4 The Sacred Dissatisfaction in the Apostle Peter

When you read this passage of scripture, I guess you will have the same confusion I had at first. That is, you follow me, and Peter followed Jesus? How could that be? Originally, everything has a reason! What is the reason? The basic reason is that although Peter was a professional fisherman, sometimes he had fish, and sometimes he didn't! This is not the biggest problem. The problem is that Peter always had a question mark in his heart: is this how I live my life? Is there no better way to live? Looking at those seventy or eighty-year-olds, they live and then they die? Is that what life is all about? If that's the case, what's the point? Peter saw very clearly that living like this is meaningless!
In fact, the most terrible thing about people is not confusion, but numbness. Those who are confused can seek, and those who seek will find. Because God is waiting for those who seek. Those who are numb live one day at a time. They just live like that, without exploring or wanting to understand, just waiting for the tragedy to come. I really want to wake up those who are living in numbness. In fact, if you observe carefully, you will know how many people are living in numbness. When people are numb, they think that living like that is quite interesting. I see many who are clearly not living with any meaning, and also know that their future is just like that. And then they say, I'm doing fine! We really don't know how to preach the gospel to those whose eyes only see what is near, only the things before them, and don't think about the future at all. On the contrary, those who have had enough of living have hope!
Because of the forum ministry, I recently saw a post, and I replied to it. The post said something like this, let me read it to you:

Walking out of Confusion, Pursuing Sacred Joy

In the afternoon, I met my junior high school classmate online. He is married, has children, and is currently unemployed. He said he doesn't know what to do, and he is very confused. He just lives from day to day. Sometimes I also just live from day to day. Besides making money, I have no other ideas in my heart. Occasionally go out to drink and pick up girls, but it's just temporary happiness. After drinking too much, there are thousands of knots in my heart. After flirting with girls, there is endless loneliness and emptiness. We live too tired, maybe because there are no happy people around us. I know many, many people from all walks of life, but there are very few who are truly happy all day long. Take these forty-something old men in the logistics circle, for example. With a monthly income of fifty or sixty thousand, they still feel like they are poor. There are too many desires that have not been satisfied. When they see a friend they like, they can't help but want to shout a few words. But after shouting, unhappy people are still unhappy. Maybe the social environment is too bad, and everyone is under pressure. Several friends around me are unhappy because the country is about to introduce inheritance tax. In fact, how much money can you spend directly before you die? They don't think that way. They always want to leave something for their children. Lao Zhao spent 4 million to buy a villa, saying it was for his son to use, but when he heard that the country was going to levy inheritance tax, he couldn't help but curse. Take my parents, for example. They have no worries about food and clothing and are financially free, but because I am not married, they are also frowning all day long. It seems that if I don't get married, I am a sinner for all eternity. Sometimes I miss home very much, but I don't dare to go back, for fear that they will force me to get married. Some people come into this world just to leave alone. Not all birds can find a nest. Why is my classmate unhappy? He can't find a satisfactory job. Every month, he earns money to buy diapers and milk powder for his son. He feels like he is a donkey, always going in circles. He has worked hard for a long time, but still sees no hope. He lives and becomes despairing... What about me? I never seem to see any hope. On a lonely night, looking out the window, there is endless emptiness and loneliness.
I replied to the post, hoping that he can get out of this confusion! And become a person like me, no longer confused, only joy!
In fact, as long as you are a person, as long as you carefully observe life, you will have emptiness and confusion. Whoever is empty and confused and willing to seek the true meaning of life, I think, will have a considerable chance of encountering the Lord Jesus, the Lord of the Word of Life! The trouble is that people plunge into busy lives and become numb people!
Peter is one of them. As a fisherman who makes a living, to be able to see the emptiness of life is truly a treasure in God's eyes! You ask me how I know? In the later chapters, it is described that Jesus asked the twelve disciples, Are you also going to leave me? Peter replied, Lord, you have the words of eternal life. Where else can we go? This shows that Peter has seen enough of the things of this life! I call seeing through the essence of life, knowing that if there is no eternal life, there is no hope in this life, as sacred dissatisfaction! Those with this dissatisfaction, when they encounter the Lord Jesus and hear the most beautiful thing in life, fishing for men, how can they not follow?
Another reason for following the Lord Jesus is that a person's ambition must be great! If a person's ambition is small, only hoping to do small things, that is not a noble thing. Although Peter was a farmer, a fisherman, with a wrinkled face, rough skin, no culture, and no education, Peter's ambition was very large! How large? Larger than the world! This is why there were so many fishermen, but the Lord Jesus only called him and the other three, and not those who were living a fishing life in numbness. There must be a sacred sense of dissatisfaction in the heart!
5 The Apostle Peter's Ambition is Bigger than the World

Six Reasons Why Peter Followed Jesus

Even if Peter had a sense of divine discontent and a great ambition, why did he follow the Lord Jesus? If we refer to the Gospel of Luke, we can understand.
First, Peter knew John the Baptist and the prophecies John had made, that Jesus was the Messiah, the Savior. - This is what Peter wanted!
Second, Jesus fasted and prayed in the wilderness for forty days, full of the power of the Holy Spirit, and his fame spread throughout the region.
Third, Jesus later preached in the area of Galilee, teaching in the synagogues, reading from Isaiah 61:1. Luk 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, Luk 4:19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. Luk 4:20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. Luk 4:21 He said to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” Luk 4:22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. This meant that Jesus was the Messiah, the Savior whom the Israelites had been waiting for.
Fourth, Jesus cast out demons - Luk 4:31 Then he went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath he taught the people. Luk 4:32 They were amazed at his teaching, because his words had authority. Luk 4:33 In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an impure spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, Luk 4:34 “Go away! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” Luk 4:35 “Be quiet!” Jesus said sternly. “Come out of him!” Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him. Luk 4:36 All the people were amazed and said to each other, “What words these are! With authority and power he gives orders to impure spirits and they come out!” Luk 4:37 And the news about him spread throughout the surrounding area.
Fifth, Jesus healed Peter's mother-in-law, witnessing Jesus' power firsthand - Luk 4:38 Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her. Luk 4:39 So he bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them. - A grateful heart!
Sixth, Jesus healed all who sought him and cast out demons - Luk 4:40 At sunset, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them. Luk 4:41 Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Messiah. - A heart of longing.

Peter's Colorful Life Journey

Seventh, Jesus enabled them to catch a large number of fish - As the people were crowding around Jesus and listening to the word of God, he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret. Luk 5:2 He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. Luk 5:3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat. Luk 5:4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” Luk 5:5 Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” Luk 5:6 When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. Luk 5:7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. - Peter knew, if he had this power, would he still be fishing here? Those we bless will be blessed... Some people pray for a job and treat the job as a treasure, foolish! Although they have studied for many years, their IQ is not as good as Peter, who came from a peasant background! Too easily satisfied!
Luk 5:8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” Luk 5:9 For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, Luk 5:10 and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” Luk 5:11 So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.
Peter was not a fool! He was the smartest of the smart! His heart was not set on a net of fish. He was not thinking about the dream of fishing. What he wanted was to be like Jesus Christ, to be able to do these impossible things. If Peter's heart was small, he would be thinking about how to get Jesus' ability to catch fish! Then he would follow Jesus, but his heart would be filled with fish. Steal this ability, steal this skill, and go back to fishing! But what Peter was thinking about was being like Jesus!
A small heart is not wisdom!
At that time, Jesus Christ had not yet been crucified, nor had he risen from the dead, and the Holy Spirit had not yet been given, but Peter and his companions saw it and knew it was the way of life!
Today, the Lord Jesus has completed the grace of redemption, and the grace of being filled with the Holy Spirit has also been given to us. Brothers and sisters, if you are smart, you will definitely make the same choice as Peter! That is to enter a completely different path of life, that is the path of a colorful life!
6 The life of the Apostle Peter became a colorful life.
Today, the Lord Jesus has completed the grace of redemption, and the grace of being filled with the Holy Spirit has also been given to us. Brothers and sisters, if you are smart, you will definitely make the same choice as Peter! That is to enter a completely different path of life, that is the path of a colorful life! That is the path to becoming a blessing to all nations!
Do you know what a wonderful life is? It is having many wonderful experiences and wonderful stories to tell! There are many stories about Peter!

Live a Wonderful Life, Follow the Lord Jesus

Peter was by Jesus Christ's side throughout His ministry on earth. What he saw was more wonderful than what anyone else saw. Even the transfiguration of Jesus, when He shone with light, Peter was there! When Jesus walked on water, Peter also tried to walk on water! Several times Jesus raised the dead, Peter was there. When five loaves of bread and two fish fed five thousand people, Peter was there. When Jesus was crucified, Peter was there. When Jesus rose from the dead, Peter was there. Eating with the resurrected Jesus, Peter was there. Seeing Jesus ascend into heaven, Peter was there. At the first filling of the Holy Spirit, Peter was there. When the man who was lame from birth stood up and walked, Peter did it himself! Later, building the glorious church, Peter participated personally. Until the Gentiles believed, Peter started it. Seeing the gospel spread to the Roman Empire, Peter participated personally!
There are so many stories! Since I followed Jesus, I have had so many stories and experiences! If I were to tell them, I could talk for days. In the past twenty years, God has used my hands to transform the lives of many people! My younger brother's child (who is now in college) came back to life from the brink of death, cancer and incurable diseases were healed, paralyzed people got up and walked... Just this past week, Sister QL's diarrhea and vomiting were healed through prayer on QQ, and Sister ZX's back pain was healed through prayer on the phone...
I remember, if I had not known the Lord Jesus, either I would not be in this world today, or I would still be living a black and white life, venting cynical posts on the Internet. But thank the Lord Jesus, who has chosen me from among all nations, to serve Him and begin to catch men like fish! This is how people should live!
Having heard this, will you choose Peter's path? Will you choose the path I have chosen?
Not only myself, but our brothers and sisters have also begun a wonderful life! That is to catch men like fish!
Tell the brothers and sisters next to you: You must live a wonderful life!
I sometimes wonder what the Lord Jesus was up to, getting people like Peter! The Lord Jesus meant that if Peter could do it, you are stronger than Peter, so you can definitely do it!
7 If the fisherman Apostle Peter could do it, we all can!
I sometimes wonder what the Lord Jesus was up to, getting people like Peter! The Lord Jesus meant that if Peter could do it, you are stronger than Peter, so you can definitely do it!
Peter did not receive much education, but you have!
You have everything Peter had, and you also have what Peter did not have!
8 Ambition and dreams, coupled with down-to-earth work
LN's mother, on the phone.
Down-to-earth - Jesus was a carpenter, Peter was a fisherman, Jesus was a professional Jesus, Peter was a professional fisherman.
A classmate of one of our sisters - studying theology, her work was a mess, and she also had depression. No one liked to be in a group with her to do projects.
9 Summary: Let us all follow the Lord Jesus, become people who catch men like fish, and live a wonderful life!