Fishing Buddies (2 of 4)
Series: Deep Soul Fishing
Dr. James Merritt
John 1:35-51
Introduction
When two people get married, the man, as you know, plays the part of the groom and the woman plays the part of the bride. From the very beginning of this union anybody can see an outstanding difference already between the perspective groom and the perspective bride. All the bride can think about and all the bride is excited about is the wedding. From the time she gets the ring and sets the date, she and usually her mother and about forty-five hundred other women eat, breath, and sleep the wedding. It is all consuming. It is 24/7: flowers, food, dresses, colors, the ceremony, the cake, the reception, the minister, the rehearsal, and the music. The job of the groom during these pre-wedding days is very simple - fake interest and stay out of the way.
The groom is totally different. He only thinks about one thing and gets excited about one thing and that is the honeymoon. He is ready to have the bride all to himself. After he says ''I do two words in his mind are ''hot dog!''
The reason I bring that up is the church is called the bride of Christ. When a person becomes a follower of Christ, he becomes a part of His bride. That raises this question. Why doesn't Jesus take His bride immediately to heaven to be with Him? To put it another way, once you become a follower of Christ, a part of His bride, a part of His body, a part of His family, why does He leave you here instead of taking you to heaven? I am convinced the primary reason we are left on this earth is to fulfill what is known as the ''Great Commission'' which is the command of Jesus Christ to go out and make disciples of all people. In other words, we have been left here to fish.
We can spend all eternity worshipping God, singing to God, praying to God, loving God, learning from God, serving God, but only here and only now do we have the chance to fish for people and to reach people for Christ.
We ...
Series: Deep Soul Fishing
Dr. James Merritt
John 1:35-51
Introduction
When two people get married, the man, as you know, plays the part of the groom and the woman plays the part of the bride. From the very beginning of this union anybody can see an outstanding difference already between the perspective groom and the perspective bride. All the bride can think about and all the bride is excited about is the wedding. From the time she gets the ring and sets the date, she and usually her mother and about forty-five hundred other women eat, breath, and sleep the wedding. It is all consuming. It is 24/7: flowers, food, dresses, colors, the ceremony, the cake, the reception, the minister, the rehearsal, and the music. The job of the groom during these pre-wedding days is very simple - fake interest and stay out of the way.
The groom is totally different. He only thinks about one thing and gets excited about one thing and that is the honeymoon. He is ready to have the bride all to himself. After he says ''I do two words in his mind are ''hot dog!''
The reason I bring that up is the church is called the bride of Christ. When a person becomes a follower of Christ, he becomes a part of His bride. That raises this question. Why doesn't Jesus take His bride immediately to heaven to be with Him? To put it another way, once you become a follower of Christ, a part of His bride, a part of His body, a part of His family, why does He leave you here instead of taking you to heaven? I am convinced the primary reason we are left on this earth is to fulfill what is known as the ''Great Commission'' which is the command of Jesus Christ to go out and make disciples of all people. In other words, we have been left here to fish.
We can spend all eternity worshipping God, singing to God, praying to God, loving God, learning from God, serving God, but only here and only now do we have the chance to fish for people and to reach people for Christ.
We ...
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