Message Sixteen: Fishers Of Men

Matthew 4:19

In Holland recently, a $280,000 yacht was launched for the Sheik of the Bahreini Islands. It was equipped with closed-circuit televison, so that he’d be able to watch the floats of his fishing lines while sitting in his air-conditioned stateroom. Can you think of a more comfortable way to fish?
But when the Lord Jesus said to Andrew and Peter in Matthew 4:19, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men,” He called them to a life of hardship as well as hope, of toil as well as triumph; and you can’t have one without the other.

Too many church members have become so concerned about their own comfort that they’re not catching any fish. They’re not willing to make any sacrifices, and souls aren’t being saved. But He who made the supreme sacrifice, the Master Fisherman, has shown us the way. He goes on ahead, and He says, “Follow Me.” I’m going with Him, no matter what the cost or cross may be. How about you?

“But,” you protest, “I can’t be a preacher.” No, but you can be a personal worker, and there’s no greater way to win the lost to the Lord.

Mr. Spurgeon said, “If you had one hundred empty bottles before you, and you threw a pail of water over them, some would get a little in them, but most would fall outside. If you wish to fill the bottles, the best way is to take each bottle separately and put a vessel full of water to the bottle’s mouth.”

Henry Ward Beecher backed him up by saying, “The longer I live the more confidence I have in those sermons preached where one man is the minister and one man is the congregation.”
D. L. Moody said, “I’d rather be the means of setting ten men to work at winning souls for Christ, than of converting a hundred.”

Trumbull, a mighty soul winner said, “The world is never going to be brought to Christ wholesale, but one by one. Men aren’t born collectively; they don’t die collectively; they don’t accept or reject Christ collectively. General preaching has its place, but it’s a preliminary only in this work; the harvest must be hand picked.”


Not every Christian is called to be an evangelist or a pastor, but every one is called to be a fisher of men. You don’t have to be a great Christian, but you must be a genuine Christian. If you haven’t received Christ, you’re not a Christian; if you’re not a Christian, you can’t be a Christian witness–a fisher of men–a soul winner.

May I give you some suggestions that will help you in this work to which you’re called? To make it easier to remember them let’s use the letter P.

First, the prospect. That’s the person you want to win for Christ. Here’s a chorus I often use as my prayer: “Lord, lay some soul upon my heart, and love that soul through me, and may I humbly do my part to lead that soul to Thee.” When the Lord lays that soul upon your heart, learn all you can about him or her, and all the time you’re with that one, do your best by your lips and your life to make that one hungry to become a Christian.

Second, the product. Remember that you’re presenting Christ, not merely your church; the Savior, not yourself; and while doing this, use the Word of the Lord. It’s His Word that saves, not yours. Look to the Lord to lead you in the verses to use, and He will bless His Word.
Third, the promise. Let that one know, that although he or she is a sinner, the Lord Jesus promised in Revelation, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in.”

Fourth, the procedure. Always be on the lookout to win a soul to the Lord. One evening at a dinner party, an alcoholic found herself seated beside a Christian gentleman. Claiming to be a pagan, she at first didn’t appreciate this. But she found him sympathetic, and she poured out her soul to him. After listening, he suggested, “Why don’t you turn all of your troubles over to the Lord?” She left that dinner, and several days later, she arrived home and found a letter and some books from this Christian man and his wife. She read the books, and it wasn’t long before she dropped to her knees and received Jesus as her Savior. “Within twenty minutes,” she testified, “it was all over. The cocktails and sleeping pills, the fears and the self-pity just went away.” Then she became a fisher of men and won her son, who stood at the top of his class at Yale, to the Lord, and now he’s preparing for the ministry.

There’s no greater mission than that of bringing a soul to the Lord, and there’s no greater mischief than that of keeping a soul from the Lord. O, follow the Lord, and He’ll make you a fisher of men.

copyright 2000 Guido Evangelistic Association

All Scripture verses are quoted from the New King James Version.

This series of messages on the books of the Bible were originally written for broadcast on Dr. Guido's radio program, "The Sower." They are collected and reprinted here for your enjoyment and spiritual edification. Go to the Sower's site for more at www.TheSower.com.