Sit at the Master's Feet

As we begin this new year, one question lingers in my mind—what am I to do with the rest of my life? Or better, how do I live for Jesus? In Luke chapter five, Jesus told Peter, James, and John, fishermen all, to "Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch" (Luke 5:4). After a little protesting because they had already been there and caught nothing, they gave in and did as Jesus instructed. And guess what? "They caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking" (v. 6). They filled two boats so full "that they began to sink" (v. 7). Peter and the others "were astonished" (v. 9), and that prompted Jesus to say to Peter, "Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men" (v. 10).

That tells us that the first eleven verses of Luke chapter five are about life-style evangelism, or living your life in such a way that others see Jesus in you and are drawn to Christ. This whole episode was setup by Jesus teaching the crowds in the first three verses. It is there that we begin to see how to live for Jesus. Let's look at those verses.

"Now it happened that while the crowd was pressing around Him and listening to the word of God, He was standing by the lake of Gennesaret" (Luke 5:1, NASB). "It happened" (v. 1a), or "it came to pass" (KJV), is literally, "one day." One day as Jesus "was standing by the lake of Gennesaret" a "crowd" of people were "listening to the word of God" as Jesus was teaching them (v. 1). They were "pressing around Him" (v. 1a) trying to hear clearly what He was saying.

"The Lake of Gennesaret" (v. 1b) is the Sea of Galilee. It is also called Kinneret or Lake Tiberias. The four are one and the same, most commonly known as the Sea of Galilee. Jesus "saw two boats lying at the edge of the lake; but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets. And He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little way from the land. And He sat down and began teaching the people from the boat" (vv. 2-3, NASB).

In 1980 I had the privilege of standing on shore where scholars believe this took place. It is a natural amphitheater, and as I stood on the shore and spoke, the others could easily hear well up the side of the hill. So when Jesus asked Peter "to put out a little way from the land" (v. 3a) and "sat down and began teaching…from the boat" (v. 3b), He could easily be heard by all.

So the way to live out life-style evangelism is to sit at the Master's feet and learn from Him. That is where it all begins. Become one with the Word of God. Spend time in the Word. Set up a special time each day to read a few verses and to pray. Then think about the verses you read throughout the day. Meditate on the verses. Let the Scripture you read and the truth they taught get down inside of you and become part of you. When you do that, you can't help but experience the truth of Colossians 3:16— "Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God."

In these first three verses of Luke chapter 5, we see the ultimate reality show. Jesus teaching the people with reality. He knew God. He simply talked about God and His relationship with Him and what God can do for others. He is our example in how to teach others about Christ.

I think Jesus talked about God with such reality, such close personal experience, that He didn't need to preach in the usual sense. That is what is needed in life-style evangelism. When you have a close personal experience of fellowship with Christ and you know Him intimately, you can share Him with others with a reality that will reach right down into their hearts.

This means getting to know Jesus and His Word. Sit at the Master's feet daily and learn of Him. The first "key" to life-style evangelism is simply to know Christ. Spend the time needed to get to know Him well! Amen.