Acts 1: 1-11
Theme: Evangelism
EACH ONE REACH ONE
Now it came to pass that a group existed who called themselves fishermen. They each responded to the call of their master, "follow me and I will make you fishermen." You know the song (song to the tune of the Beverly Hill Billies) Well, the next thing you know/ they all had a fishing pole/ and they all were headed down/ to the same fishing hole./ Then the game warden said/ that’s not the place to be./ So they loaded up their boats/ and moved to Galilee,/ the lake that is, red fish and soc au lait
And lo, there were many fish in the waters all around. In fact, the whole area was surrounded by streams and lakes filled with fish. And the fish were hungry.
Week after week, month after month, and year after year, these who called themselves fishermen met in meetings and talked about their call to fish, the abundance of fish, and how they might go about fishing. Year after year they carefully defined what fishing means, defended fishing as an occupation, and declared that fishing is always to be a primary task of fishermen.
Continually, they searched for new and better methods of fishing and for new and better definitions of fishing. Further they said, "The fishing industry exists by fishing as fire exists by burning." They loved slogans such as "Fishing is the task of every fisherman." They sponsored special meetings called "Fishermen’s Campaigns" and "The Month for Fishermen to Fish." They sponsored costly nationwide and worldwide congresses to discuss fishing and to promote fishing and hear about all the ways of fishing such as the new fishing equipment, fish calls, and whether any new bait had been discovered.
These fishermen built large, beautiful buildings called "Fish Sanctuaries." The plea was that everyone should be a fisherman and every fisherman should fish. There was one thing they didn’t do, however: They didn’t fish.
Now I bet you know a few people like this. They have the rod and reel, the boat and the truck to pull it. They have the tackle and the bait and the lures. They go to boat shows and attend fishing seminars. Some take courses on the needs of fish, the nature of fish, where to find fish, the psychological reactions of fish, and how to approach and feed fish. Some of them even earn doctorates in fishology. But they don’t fish.
Imagine how hurt some were when one day a person suggested that those who don’t go fishing were really not fishermen, no matter how much they claimed to be. Yet it did sound correct. Is a person a fisherman if, year after year, he never goes fishing? (Darrell W. Robinson, People Sharing Jesus, (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1995, 21-23)
Jesus promised his disciples that He would make them fishers of men. We all know that means to be witnesses. In the forty days after the resurrection that Jesus spent with the disciples and other believers, He taught them many things. But more than just teach them, Jesus commissioned them, he gave them a mission. They would now have the responsibility of spreading the gospel message. The followers of Jesus were to wait in Jerusalem until the Spirit came upon them. The Holy Spirit was given in the upper room. But the Spirit also was given several other times indicating that the barrier of race and class are broken down, that the gospel message for all to hear and accept. The Spirit is first given in Jerusalem. In Acts 8: 17 the Samaritans receive the Holy Spirit. Then the most incredible thing happened, the gentiles at Caesarea who were not Jews received the Holy Spirit (Acts 10: 44). And we understand from Scripture that everyone who has saving faith in Christ, is now filled with the Holy Spirit.
The disciples were told that they would be witnesses in Jerusalem and in Judea and Samaria and even to the remotest part of the earth. It seemed logical that they would witness in Jerusalem and even in Judea. But it was not natural for them to witness in Samaria, they were enemies. Yet Jesus commanded them to go there. And not only Samaria but to the utter most parts of the earth. Christ's command breaks down barriers that took centuries to establish and Acts records the breaking down of those barriers. First the gospel spreads to Samaria and the coastal regions. Then the Ethiopian Godfearer receives the gospel and takes it back to his home. Later the gospel spreads to gentiles who are not Godfearers in Antioch, Cyprus, and Galatia. Soon the gospel goes across the Aegean Sea into Europe by of Greece and later to Rome and beyond! God's salvation was not just for the Jews but was for every single person who would listen and accept that message. By the grace of God, twenty-one centuries later, God's message is still being spread and we have had the privilege to hear it and to respond to it and to become a follower of Christ.
We are what is referred to as a great commission church and we practice what is often called the apostolic faith. We are the 50th generation since the resurrection, if you count 40 years as a generation. The command to be witnesses is passed on from generation to generation. It is a kingdom command, every member of God's kingdom is responsible for carrying it out. We are to be fishers of men. And God's promise that His Spirit would be with us, even us, when we bear witness. Jesus said that you shall receive power and you shall be my witnesses. Is God a liar? Did God make a promise that he did not keep? Or are we unfaithful to his calling? We have the power to witness.
Maybe we don't understand the nature of witnessing. Matthew 28: 18 says
All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.
The word "Go" is usually translated as a command because the great commission is a command. But the word itself means "while you go" or "as you go." Don't you see, Jesus meant that a witness is to be given naturally and in the context of our daily life? We don't have to go to Africa to be a witness, we can and we should be a witness to our neighbors and our friends and our kin.
God has promised us that when we tell others about salvation that is in Christ, He is with us, we witness in the power of the Spirit not in weakness. We are the redeemed, we are the people of the kingdom, we are the children of God! How could we not witness? But you might say, Brother Randy, I don't feel power or I am afraid. The power comes when you exercise your faith. You have to act. And as far as fear is concerned, Paul told Timothy, 2TI 1:7 "For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord . . . " The Love of God casts out fear.
But you need to know that I can't bear your witness for you. One of the most discouraging things to me is for someone to tell me, I have someone who needs to know the Lord but will not try to witness to them. I don't mind witnessing, but when someone wants me to witness because they are too embarrassed or too shy or too stubborn to witness, it disappoints me. When God gives you the opportunity to witness, do it! Not to try is to be disobedient to the one who called you
.What would happen if each one of us reached just one unchurched or lost person this year? Just one person! You don’t have to reach the whole world this year, just one person. And if we won one lost person per year per member, think about the impact that would have on our community. It is not as hard as you might think. Everyone of us will have the opportunity to invite someone to church with us–a simple invitation, "why don’t you come to Church with me this Sunday?" I am convinced that if we can get them to church, that God will do the rest. And somewhere along the way, someone is going to be watching you live the Christian life and they are going to ask you questions. They are asking for you to tell them about Jesus! You don’t have to have all the theological answers. You can always say "I don’t know the answer to that, but I know what Jesus did for me." And that is the bottom line, we tell them what God has done for me.
Each one, Reach one, what if we made that our theme and our goal for the year? Each one of us needs to commit to reaching one lost or unchurched person as our personal goal. What could be more simple than that? You have the rod and the reel. You have the bait and the lures. You have the truck and the boat. Now, all you have to do is fish. !