The Morgan County press. (Wartburg, Tenn.) 1916-1926, 1919-10-10

come ye after me, and will make you to
become fishers Of men.-Mark Ill.
ADDITIONAL MATERIAL-Matt. AIS
"a; Luke SILL; H:15-A; James SIS. 20.
PRIMARY TOPIC-Helping others to
know Jesus.
JUNIOR TOPIC-Peter and John be-
come workers for Jesus.
INTERMEDIATE TOPIC-The work OF
a disciple
SENIOR AND ADULT ToPIC-ways Of
winning men to Christ.
!. Jesus Preaching In GaIiiee (vv. IA.
15).
The reason why he changed from
Judea to Galilee was the growing OPP
position to him. The fate Of John the
Baptist he accepted as foreshadowing
his own death. The rejection of the
forerunner meant the rejection of him
whose advent he heralded. Prudence
moved him to a more remote region,
where he would attract less attention
and be free from opposition. Besides
this it gave less favored people an op-
portunity to hear the gospel, according
to the prophetic word lisa. 0:1, ~. 1t
foreshadowed the gospel to the Cen
tiles.
/. What he preached ". I4). The
gospel Of the Kingdom Of God, which
meant the good news OF the near ap-
proach Of the Kingdom Of God, when
the rule of God as predicted by the
prophets would be realized. 1t should
be carefully noted that the gospel OF
the Kingdom differs from the gospel
of the grace Of God.
2. How he preached ". 15). (1)
"The time is fulfilled and the Kingdom
of God is at hand" This meant that
the time had now come for the appear
ance- of the Messiah and the establish
ment of his kingdom. (2) Repent"
This meant that the people should turn
around, change their minds and atti-
tude toward Christ the King and ac-
cept him as their King. This is mes
sage which needs to be sounded out
today. People should be called upon to
repent Of their sins. (3) Believe the
gospel" Then, as now, men need to
believe the gospel of Christ's death for
their sins and resurrection for iustifca-
ton Il Cor. Is Ia Rom. :25).
II. Jesus Calling Disciples to Become
Fishers of Men wv. 1920.
1. Who were called (vv. 16, 19). ST.
mon and Andrew, John and James, two
pairs of brothers. 1t is usually best to
render the Lords service in fellowship
lin pairs. This is not only necessary
for effective testimony, but for needed
fellowship on the part of workers and
protection Of the witnesses. These all
had previously been called to Christ
for salvation; they had become his dis
ciples John :36-42l. They are now
called to service. This is always his
way. We are first called to be dis
ciples, then called to have fellowship
with him in service.
2. From what they were called wv.
16, 20) They were called from posi-
lions Of definite service. God always
chooses his servants from the ranks of
the employed. The lazy man is not
likely to have call.
8. To what they were called ". I'D.
To be FISHERS Of men," They no
doubt had been successful fishers. The
qualities which made them good fisher
men, namely, patience, bravery to face
the storm and night, and perseverance,
which led them to toll all night, though
no fish were caught, would make them
good fishers of men. 1t requires pa
tience, bravery and perseverance to
win souls for Christ.
4. Their call to obedience wv. Is, 2O).
To obey meant sacrifice, painful sep
aration, to give up all business inter-
ests and leave their father behind. Re-
CARELESS of the cost, they yielded
prompt obedience. They gave up bust
ness and home, not even inQuiring as
to where their salaries were to come
from. They put their trust in him who
called them, believing that he was able
to supply all their needs.
8. Their reward ". I'D. These four
men have welded wondrous influence
In the world. Their names have be-
come immortalized. Had they remain
ed at their business they would only
have been humble fishermen. When
Christ calls let us promptly obey, for
eventually 1t will pay. 1t will yield
one hundredfold In this life, and eter-
nal life in the world to come.