SEVEN POSITIONS THE LORD HOLDS FOR HIS PEOPLE

Matt. 4:18-19

Morning Meditation 9/25/17

"And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."

We are born again Christians walking with Christ in this pilgrim journey. There are several positions that He holds with regard to His people in this world today. There are many more that could be mentioned but I will only mention seven in this meditation.

HE IS THE MASTER FISHERMAN TO TRAIN US TO CATCH MEN

He says in our text that as Jesus walked along the banks by the sea of Galilee, He saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea and he said unto them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."

This was a call to service. Unsaved men are never trained to serve the Lord. One must be saved before He is Scripturally and Spiritually qualified to serve the Lord. Salvation always comes first and then service.

There are some reasons for this. First, there is no Spiritual discernment in an unsaved man. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 2:14-15, "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man." The natural man is the unsaved man. He is by nature a sinner. Paul said of his pre-salvation life in Ephesians 2:1-3, "And you hath he quickened, who WERE DEAD in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others." You can't train a dead man in Spiritual truth. You cannot take a man to a place you have not been. If you have been to the cross for salvation, you can take someone else there. Jesus called some men who had been converted under the ministry of John the Baptist to make up the nucleus of the Church.

How do we know that these men were converted under the ministry of John the Baptist? We know it by what we are told in the book of Acts. When the church was electing some one to take the place of Judas Iscariot one of the qualifications of one to fill that office is stated in Acts 1:21-22, "Wherefore of these men which have companied with us ALL THE TIME that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, BEGINNING FROM THE BAPTISM OF JOHN, UNTO THAT SAME DAY THAT HE WAS TAKEN UP FROM US, MUST one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection." So the original twelve plus some others had been disciples of Christ since the ministry of the forerunner until the very day He was taken up from them into heaven. There were those there who qualified. A person must be born again before He can occupy a place of service for the Lord.

Not only must he be born again, he must be willing to drop what he was doing, burn the bridges behind him, and follow Jesus. When Jesus called Peter and Andrew, they dropped the nets and followed Jesus with the idea of being trained by Him to be fishers of men. That is personal soul winning. The purpose of the church is to be fishers of men. This must be done at home and abroad at the same time. We can witness to our neighbors and we can witness through our missionaries to the rest of the world and this can be carried on simultaneously. Every church should be a missionary church. It was built by Jesus during His personal ministry for the purpose of soul winning at home and missions that would extend to the uttermost parts of the world. So one of the things Jesus is to His disciples is a soul winner winning the lost and training them to be soul winners. We fish for men. Next,

JESUS IS WITHIN US GIVING US POWER

There is no doubt that we need Spiritual power to help reach the lost with the gospel. Simon Peter went beyond oratorical and the wisdom of words on the day of Pentecost to see three thousand souls become believers and make it public by being baptized so that they were identified publicly with the church that Jesus built. We are told in Acts 2:41-42, "Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were ADDED unto them about three thousand souls. And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers." You cannot add to a nonexistent Church. When we give an invitation in our church, we offer people the opportunity to be added to the fellowship of the local church. It is already a church, now it is being added to. It is growing in size. A church with a very small number can exist. It is as much a church as a church with 5,000 members. It is not as large, but it is still a divine institution to which God will add people.

First Jesus is in every believer. Ephesians 1:13-14, "In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, YE WERE SEALED WITH THAT HOLY SPIRIT OF PROMISE, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory." At salvation our bodies become temples of the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." Paul is speaking to individual believers in the local church at Corinth.

Then the Church is indwelt by the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 3:16 says, "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?" When you see the word "ye" in our King James Bible it is the plural you. So here he is speaking to the church collectively. This same truth is brought out in Ephesians 2:21-22, "In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit." The Church is builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

Jesus is within us giving us power. Next,

HE IS BEFORE US LEAVING US AN EXAMPLE

John 10:4, "And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice." We are the sheep, He is the Shepherd. The Shepherd goes before the sheep and they follow Him.

If you want to know what to do, pick up your Bible and start reading. We have an example set before us in the person of Jesus. He is our example. You say, "Preacher, there is no way to follow Jesus." There will be times when we make a misstep in following Jesus. But He should be our example. When we miss the mark, we can go to Him for forgiveness and He will give it immediately. May the Lord help us to set our goals upon Jesus. Hebrews 12:2, "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." Next,

HE IS ABOVE US REPRESENTING US IN HEAVEN

Hebrews 7:25, "Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them."

First of all this verse states that Jesus is able to save. It tells us that He is able to save to the uttermost. It gives the reason why. It is because of His intercessory ministry. He constantly makes intercession for us. An intercessor is one who pleads with God on behalf of another. Jesus pleads with God for us and is able to say, "Father I died for him/her. Amen!!! What a Saviour!!! Satan is the accuser of the brethren. Revelation 12:10 says, "And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night." Satan accuses and Jesus refuses to accept his accusations on the ground of the gospel. Next,

HE IS BENEATH US TO SUSTAIN US

Deuteronomy 33:27 says, "The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them."

Psalms 37:23-24, "The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand."

Jesus is the solid rock on which we base our faith. He is not only a rock, He is beneath us with His everlasting arms. Not only is He beneath us with His everlasting arms, though we fall, and we do, He shall not utterly cast us down. He upholds us with His hand. Next,

HE IS BESIDE US TO GUIDE US

Psalms 16:8-9, "I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope."

One of the dangers in this life is for the believer to wander from the path. There is no need to wander. We have the Lord at our right hand, we cannot be moved. Now if we cease to realize and walk by faith in this promise, we certainly could be moved. But we know this verse. We will not be moved. That is a strong statement. The Psalmist says, "We shall not be moved."

Then there is the rejoicing. David said, "Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth." The assurance that David received as he meditated on this truth he says, "Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth." Next,

HE IS AROUND US TO DELIVER US

Psalms 34:7, "The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them." It does not say, "The angel of the LORD stays close to us." It does not say, "The angel of the LORD is sent to protect us." Those would be good things. But he says, "The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him." The words "encampeth round about them that fear him" means he is on all sides. And he has set up camp!!! He is there to stay for the night of this world. And it tells what he is there to do. It says, "and delivereth them." The word "delivereth" means, "to pull out, tear out

to rescue, deliver, set free, to take away." Satan can come and bring a hoard of fallen angels with him, but when he does, he will find the angel of the LORD encamping, completely surrounding the apple of God's eye.

May the Lord bless these words to our hearts.

In Christ

Bro. White