Lesson 8 for May 26, 2012

“Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”” (Matthew, 4: 19) “Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”” (Matthew, 4: 19) The apostles didn’t become evangelists (“fishers of men”) by their own initiative or study, but Jesus taught them how they should perform that job. Studies and methods are necessary, but not enough to prepare us to preach the Gospel. Help and direction of the Holy Spirit are necessary to correctly fulfill that work. Besides theoretical preparation, Jesus instructed the apostles by using two techniques: 1.Observing. 2.Doing.

When John the Baptist was in prison, Jesus didn’t answer the disciples that he sent to ask Him if He was the Christ. He instead invited them to observe what He was doing so they could draw their own conclusions. “Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.”” (Matthew, 11: 4-6) Our training begins with Jesus: Observing Him, reading His Word, observing how He lived on this Earth, making Him our example. “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews, 12: 2)

What could the apostles learn after observing (and being part of) the miracle of the multiplication of the fish and bread after Jesus’ preaching? Read the story in the four gospels before answering; Matthew, 14: ; Mark, 6: 30-34; Luke, 9: 10-17; John, 6: Having moments of rest.How to react to stressful situations.Teaching and helping the others.How to face the unforeseen events. Feeling compassion and consideration towards people. Understanding the needs.Trusting in Jesus and to cooperate with Him.Arranging and distributing people.Asking God for help by praying.Serving.Sharing what we have.Not to squander.Etc…

Jesus wasn’t content just with making His disciples learn by listening or by helping Him in His work. He sent them alone to practice what they had learnt after giving them some specific instructions. “These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”” (Matthew, 10: 5-7) “After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go… Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves” (Luke, 10: 1-3) Eagles carry their chicks on their wings so they get used to fly. In some moment, they let them fall so they can learn to fly by themselves. After that, they pick them and do the same thing again. That’s learning by doing, learning by experiencing. After the apostles and the seventy came from their mission, Jesus heard their report. Then, He taught them to learn from their failures and successes.

Sometimes we may fail to reach all of the goals that have been set for a particular evangelism activity. Does this mean that we have totally failed? Of course not. Regardless of the strategy we employ in our search to win the lost, we will have both successes and failures. We may even set the bar too high. For instance, if we fail to reach set baptismal goals, we may have set unrealistic goals; or this activity may have been more of a seed-sowing venture than a reaping program. In short, however much we might think the harvest is ready for reaping, it might still only be sowing time. On the other hand, we must be aware that there is a very active enemy. “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter, 5: 8)

What did the disciples do after failing in casting a demon out because of their lack of faith (Matthew, 17: 14-20)? When they asked Jesus, “Why could we not cast it out?”, they were going to the only One who could explain them their mistakes. We must also come to God when we fail, so we can improve our evangelizing work by humble prayer.

“Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.”” (Luke, 10: 17) Through our successes… we learn which preaching venue is best, what advertising draws the most people and a host of other practical and procedural choices that best fit our particular situation. we learn the extent to which God is, and wants to be, involved in our endeavors. we learn to trust Him more. we learn the importance of a close spiritual cooperation with God as we strive to reach the souls for whom Christ died… …because there isn’t a person you witness to for whom Christ has not died and whom He doesn’t want to see saved. How important it is that we never forget this crucial truth

“In their association with the Master the disciples obtained a practical training for missionary work. They saw how He presented truth, and how He dealt with the perplexing questions that arose in His ministry. They saw His ministry in healing the sick wherever He went; they heard Him preach the gospel to the poor. In our day, from the record of His life, all must learn His methods of working” E.G.W. (Evangelism, cp. 5, “The City Field Training School”, pg. 109)