THURSDAY 30th
Acts 1:8 – Power to be Missional
We go back today to Acts chapter one, for when Jesus told the disciples to wait, it was initially to wait to be empowered for mission. ‘Do not go, don’t leave Jerusalem until you have received the promise of the Father, you heard me speak about it, John baptised with water, but you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit . . . you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you will be witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.’
Matthew and Mark record for us the commission of the disciples from Jesus, Matthew in 28:16-20 and Mark 16:15-18.
Back in the commencement of his ministry when Jesus called the disciples, he was calling them to be fishers of men. (Mark 1:17) Today we use the phrase to be evangelists, to tell the goods news so that others will hear, respond, and become disciples. Some of the disciples understood the concept of fishing after all that was their occupation, and they would have known that fishing was not easy, it wasn’t a case of sitting in a boat and looking overboard and saying, ‘here fishy, fishy, jump in the boat so that I can catch you’ no, it took a lot of hard work and energy. They needed to be properly equipped. And Jesus had called them to be fishers of men and it was not going to be easy, they would need to be properly equipped. Therefore, after commissioning the disciples to go and to fish (make disciples) Jesus said, ‘Do not go until you have the power (the resource) or the equipping of the Holy Spirit.
And after they had received the power of the Holy Spirit they went fishing. And the Book of Acts records for us their fishing adventures. Yes sometimes it was a smooth run, but at other times it was tempestuous, fraught with danger, literally for Paul as it involved him being shipwrecked, but because the original twelve had been obedient in ‘waiting until’, they laboured through the good times and the bad times by knowing the enabling strength and power and leading of the Holy Spirit.
The men (and the women with them) fished and fished till they caught fish and in so many places, islands, towns and cities and countries far away from Jerusalem. They went to at least Spain which is mention in Romans 15. And thank God, the fishing has never stopped, the disciples made disciples who in turn made disciples until the fishers of men have eventually caught you and I two thousand years later, and the fishing has taken place and is still taking place the whole world over.
I have never been fishing, other than the occasional crab baiting, I have watched others fish, often wondered why they can be bothered when you can go and buy a piece of fish more easily and quicker from the supermarket or even ready cooked at the chippy! Let somebody else do the fishing!
I wonder if we can be like that spiritually, let someone else do the fishing! But Jesus calls us all to be fishers of men (and women) and he doesn’t expect us to go out and to do it alone, he has also given the Holy Spirit to us, to equip us and to empower us in our sharing of the gospel. And like the disciples it will not always be an easy venture, there will be rebuffs, there may be conflict, there will be those who will reject the message, but it is the only way we will catch the fish. If you do not fish, you will never catch a fish! And believe you me, there are plenty of fish out there, and some are almost ready to jump into the net, it just needs us to put the nets out.
In John 21:3, Peter said to some of the disciples ‘I am going fishing’ and they fished all night and caught nothing – sometimes we may feel we have fished all night and caught nothing, I can assure you I have been there. Then it says that Jesus appeared and said to them ‘Cast the net on the right side’ and in doing so they caught 153 large fish.
In Acts we see the importance of the leading of the Holy Spirit in our fishing ventures. It is all about casting the net on the right side, or in the right place. For example, in Acts 8:29 we read of the Holy Spirit telling Philip to ‘Go over and join this Chariot’ In obedience Philip went and fished, and a man was saved. In Acts 16 which is a great missional chapter because there was successful fishing in so many places but in verse 6-7, we read ‘they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia. And when they came to Mysia they attempted to go into Bythinia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them.’
We need the help of the Holy Spirit in directing us, but we need to obey his voice, his leading. Next time you feel the Holy Spirit prompt you to speak to someone – be obedient, who knows you may catch a fish!
Peter said, “I’m going fishing,”
so his friends went out with him.
Through the night, they labored, watching,
hauling empty nets back in.
In the grey of early morning,
Jesus, you came walking by.
From the beach you called a greeting,
“Cast out on the other side!”
Soon their nets were filled to brimming;
someone cried, “It is the Lord!”
Jumping in, he started swimming;
Christ, you met him on the shore.
Guiding them to better waters,
eating fish and sharing bread –
you showed Peter and the others:
You were risen from the dead!
Risen Christ, you send us fishing!
God’s great sea is everywhere.
you have guided us in mission,
you have given love to share.
Through the years, our church has heard you,
we have answered your great call:
“Cast your nets where I have told you.
Bring my Word of love to all!”
Lord, be with our congregation;
by your Spirit, send us forth!
May we care for your creation;
may we work for peace on earth.
In our worship, in our giving,
in our serving those in need,
may we know, Lord; you are living,
guiding us in ministry.
Unknown CCLI 788682