Bible CharactersTalmage, T. De Witt (Thomas De Witt)
Religion
Bible Characters
Talmage, T. De Witt (Thomas De Witt)
Bible -- Biography
I think we all can learn a lesson right here--that it is not every one
who is called to be a disciple of Jesus that is called to leave his
occupation and become His follower entirely. I believe there are many
self-made preachers--man-made preachers--and this is the reason why so
many fail. No man who was called by God has ever failed, or has ever
broken down in the ministry; but when a man runs before he is sent, I
believe he will fail.
Now, we are called to be His disciples--all called to follow Him--but
we are not all called on to give up our occupations and devote all our
time to the ministry. I have men come to me constantly who say they have
been raised up, and want to give up their business and their worldly
occupation and go into the work of the Lord entirely; but I never advise
a man to go into the ministry. I think I never advised a man to give up
his occupation, and to go out into the vineyard of the Lord and go to
work. It is too high a calling, it seems to me, for men to be influencing
one another to go into it. If a man will only wait until God calls
him--be sure that God sends him--then success will crown his efforts.
Now, we find, in the fifth chapter of Luke, and also in the fourth
chapter of Matthew, where Peter got his calling. He was out with his
partners and others, fishing, when Jesus came along and told them to cast
their net, or to launch out into the deep and cast their net into the sea.
“But,” says Peter, “we have toiled all night and caught nothing.”
“Nevertheless,” commanded Jesus, “let down your nets.”
At the word of God they did so, and were successful, and when they got
ashore they found Jesus had called them to be His disciples. Just open
your Bible at the fifth chapter of Luke:
“And it came to pass that, as the people pressed upon Him to hear the
word of God, He stood by the lake of Gennesaret, and saw two ships
standing by the lake; but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were
washing their nets.
“And He entered into one of the ships, which was Simon’s, and prayed him
that he would thrust out a little from the land. And He sat down, and
taught the people out of the ship.
“Now, when He had left speaking, He said unto Simon: ‘Launch out into the
deep, and let down your nets for a draught.’
“And Simon, answering, said unto Him: ‘Master, we have toiled all the
night, and have taken nothing; nevertheless, at Thy word I will let down
the net.’
“And when they had done this, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes,
and their net broke.
“And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship,
that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the
ships, so that they began to sink.
“When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying: ‘Depart
from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.’
“For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the
fishes which they had taken.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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