GO FISH: ONE SMALL STEP
When you understand why Jesus came and what Jesus taught, His purpose for every human being is very simple. It can be boiled down to this one statement. We are to become disciples of Jesus who go and make disciples for Jesus. If Jesus is worth knowing, He is worth following and since He is worthy of being followed, we are to point others to Him so they can know Him and follow Him. All it takes is one small step on our part.
In Matthew 28:18-20 we read what Jesus said right before He ascended into Heaven. “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Here we see that:
Jesus told them WHAT to do,
Jesus told them WHERE to go, but
Jesus did not tell them HOW to do it
We cannot say we love the Lord and then pick and choose which commands of His we want to follow and which ones don’t suit our personalities, our lifestyles or our schedules.
2 Kings 5: 1-3 & 15
“Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded, because through him the Lord had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy. Now bands of raiders from Aram had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife. She said to her mistress, “If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.” Then Naaman and all his attendants went back to the man of God. He stood before him and said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. ...”
Speaking only 10 words in Hebrew, translated into 19 words in English, this little girl took one small step with no fear of the consequences and said “If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.”
1. Her obedience to God led to her GENUINE CONCERN for others
Despite her enslavement and suffering, she did not use her situation as an excuse for not being faithful to God; for not being His salt and light, and a fisher of men.
Instead of plotting her revenge or taking joy in Naaman’s suffering, or waiting for his death, she looked for opportunities to be salt and light in the place where she was a slave. She looked at Naaman with genuine concern and made a faith-filled bold suggestion that brought about his physical healing and led to his recognition of the God of Israel as the One True God.
Naaman listened to the slave girl because her life had been such a testimony that it gave credibility to her words.
People don’t care how much we know about Jesus, until they know how much we care about them.
2. Her obedience led to her CONFIDENCE in God
The slave girl didn’t have to beg, or convince Naaman herself; all she had to do was point him in the right direction; she knew that Elisha being used by God would look after the situation. Her role was really a very small role, but her confidence in who her God was and His mighty power was big. Her confidence in God was unshakeable, unquestionable, unbreakable. I can imagine her saying all day while Naaman was gone, “I know, I just know, my God will heal my master.”
Without Elisha, Naaman could not have been healed, BUT without the young girl, Naaman would never have gone to Elisha to ask for healing.
It was her confidence in who God was, that brought about Naaman’s belief in the one true God.
We can’t all be Elisha, but we can all be the servant girl. We can say to someone, “If only you would come to church with me, I know you will experience the love and care of Jesus.” We can reach across the barriers, caring not only for our friends but also those who we might think of as our enemies. And we can point them in the right direction, putting them in touch with someone who can talk with them, or inviting them to a service. And when we do that, God can work through us to bring them into the kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
“If I'm wrong about God then I've wasted my life. If you're wrong about God then you've wasted your eternity.” LeCrae, Christian artist/rapper