And He *said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." (Matthew 4:19)
Jesus had a plan for these men’s lives. The result of following His example would be that they would become like Him in bringing people to the Father. But He would make them fishers of men. He would practice the art of intentional disciplemaking.
As Jesus set out to “make” these young disciples ‘fishers of men” we see that He had a plan, a recipe. Just as a woman would put ingredients together and bake a cake, so Jesus would bring the principles of spiritual living together and bake them into the character of these men. I’ve heard it said that having an agenda or program in discipleship is wrong. My friends disciples do not just happen, they are made. Certainly, methods and tools can be abused but it is just as certain that Jesus knew exactly what He was doing. We are actually commanded to be intentional in ministry as Jesus was. As He “made” disciples, we are commanded to “make” disciples in the Great Commission. (Mt 28.18-20) A key verse that commands us to fellowship with one another gives us the objective of “spurring one another on to love and good deeds.” (Heb 10.24-25) This same verse begins with “let us consider.” In other words before we meet in fellowship we supposed to “think” about how we are going to spur one another on. We are to have a premeditated plan to facilitate disciplemaking. It’s being intentional about helping men and women become lovers of people just like Jesus. FJ46
For questions or comments drop me a line at charleswood1@gmail.com
