Title: Useful to the Lord in Winning Souls
Meta: Jesus said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." That is something we can pray everyday. 'Lord, help me to follow You, and I'm going to believe You, to make me, a fisher of men.' There is nothing more important. Nothing more precious in this world than to catch men, than to win souls. - Bob Jennings
Tags: 2 Timothy 2:21,Bob Jennings,Evangelism,Christian,believer,Matthew 4:19

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It says useful to the Master.

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And we're serving the best of all Master's.

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One time, somebody told me about how

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that somebody had hit them up

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you know, what are you doing working for him?

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What are you doing working for that guy?

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You know?

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He's not worthy of your service.

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Well, we're talking about working

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for the best of all the Master's.

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I remember I've told this story

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just last week down there,

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when I was a boy I suppose

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of maybe five or six years old,

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there was a neighboring farmer,

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he was a big farmer,

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and he came over and asked my dad,

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"do you think the boy can drive the tractor

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for us for the rock picking crew?"

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And sure, go ahead.

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And so there I was,

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driving tractor for this crew all day,

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and come to the end of the day

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and here that man,

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he paid me.

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It was the first pay I ever got.

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And he shelled out four quarters.

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And I wrapped those quarters up

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- mom did -

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in some masking tape,

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and I kept them for quite awhile,

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but sure enough, they made wings like eagles

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and somehow they took off too.

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But I remember thinking,

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What? You're going to pay me?

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Why, it's just an honor to work for you,

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I don't need to be paid.

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It's just a privilege.

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What I'm saying, brothers and sisters,

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what a privilege

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to serve the Lord.

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Can you hear the words of Isaiah,

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that prophet of God,

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after he was cleansed and renewed?

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He said "here am I."

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Here am I. Send me.

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Send me to do something.

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Send me.

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Across the street. Send me to the campus.

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Send me to somebody today.

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Here am I. Send me.

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Put your commission on me.

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Get me a job to do.

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Don't let me be idle in the marketplace.

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Don't let me twiddle my thumbs,

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or spin my tires.

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Don't let me sit there and wear out

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and rust out, I'm saying.

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I remember early,

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I was about two to three years old in the Lord,

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God quickened Matthew 4:19

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"Follow Me and I'll make you a fisher of men."

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Follow Me.

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And I will make you a fisher of men.

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That's something we can pray every day.

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Lord, help me to follow You.

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And I'm going to believe You

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to make me a fisher of men.

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There's nothing more important.

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Nothing more precious in this world

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than to catch men,

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than to win souls.

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What compares with bringing

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somebody to Christ?

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Would You use me?

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Get me somewhere somehow

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where I need to be, to be a

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winner of souls?

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1 Peter 4:10

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It says that we need to be good stewards

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of the manifold grace of God.

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Lord, You've given me something.

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You've given me more than I deserve.

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You've given me something.

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Now I want to be a good steward

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of what You've given me.

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I've been reading this book,

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and it's entitled,

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"Wesley and the Men Who Followed."

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And so a lot of it is about the

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generation after John Wesley.

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And one of the names was William Bramwell.

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You just can't believe the way

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God used these men.

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I mean, they gave all to Christ.

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And He gave Himself to them

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and put His seal on their ministry.

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He said I cannot bear to live

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without being made useful to God.

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And another man, Thomas Collins.

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These men generally saw people converted

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every day in their ministry.

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This Thomas Collins,

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he'd back his horse up,

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he'd go into a Catholic community,

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and he'd back his horse up against

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the Catholic cathedral,

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so that they wouldn't be as likely to

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throw stones at him,

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because they'd be breaking their own

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windows out.

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But they said sometimes the power of God

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was on that man so much that

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he could, with a single word,

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bring a drunken sinner to his knees

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in repentance.

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And he was asked,

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somebody came and said,

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"what gifts have I?"

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And Thomas Collins replied,

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you've got time and you've got truth.

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Let them both be well used

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and your crown will be bright.

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Now this, we're talking, you need to understand

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not just about preachers.

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Not just about pastors.

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But all of us.

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All of us in being used in advancing

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the Kingdom of God.

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Whether a school teacher,

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farmer, janitor, mother, daughter,

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we all should be thinking of this:

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how to be a workman useful to the Master.