We Believers are Fishers of Men who are Patiently Preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom

We believers in Christ are the fishers of men, those called by the Lord to bring men out of the world and into the kingdom of the heavens by preaching the gospel of the kingdom to the whole inhabited earth; we need to preach the gospel of God’s complete salvation to all men! Amen!

Lord Jesus, thank You for entrusting us with the gospel of the kingdom! Hallelujah, we are citizens of the kingdom of God, and we are fishers of men! Amen, Lord, we give ourselves to You today. We want to enjoy You, be filled with You, and speak You forth to others. Be our patience, endurance, and speaking today. We want to minister Christ to others so that they may become citizens of the kingdom of God! Amen, Lord, may we be those who are fishers of men, catching men alive for the enlarging of the kingdom of the heavens! Amen!

This week we saw some wonderful pictures of what we are as believers in Christ. We are symbolised by the wheat of life, which will be gathered into the Lord’s barn.

We have the divine life within us, for we enjoy God in Christ as life, and we want His life in us to be unhindered. We deal with any obstacles to God’s life in us, for we want His life to grow in us and flow freely in us.

We believers are symbolised by the good seed, the sons of the kingdom who are sown by the Lord to grow in His kingdom. The word of God is the seed, and Christ came to sow Himself into us and make us the good seed.

As the good seed, we follow the Lord in the ground to die by experiencing the cross to reject our soul-life, our natural life, and live by the divine life.

Our service to the Lord must originate from God, and not from ourselves; we allow His death to operate in us so that His resurrection life can be imparted through us into others.

We believers are the salt of the earth, those who kill and eliminate the earth’s germs of corruption and rottenness. We give our all to follow the Lord, and He in us sanctifies those around us and the environment we are in.

We do this by the grace of God, which is all-sufficient.

We believers in Christ are the light of the world, those who let our light shine before men to dispel the world’s darkness.

We remain under the light of the Lord, we are delivered from any obsession or self-deception, and we let the Lord shine through us. Amen!

Today we want to see that we are the fishers of men. Lord, shine on us to show us who we are by our very nature!

We Believers are the Fishers of Men who Patiently Bring Men into the Kingdom of the Heavens

Matthew 4:16-20 shows us that we are the fishers of men; all genuine believers in Christ are the fishers of men. First of all, the Lord came and “caught” us as fish; we were in the dark and dead world, and the Lord captured us by His beauty.

We were hooked by the Lord when we heard the gospel. When the Lord Jesus came out to minister, He went and called Peter and Andrew, saying to them, Come after Me, and I will make you fishers of men.

They immediately left their nets and followed the Lord, the King of the kingdom of the heavens, to be fishers of men. Maybe they did not fully understand at the beginning what that means, but they were captured by the Lord and they followed Him.

Then, in their being with the Lord, they saw how He lived, how He spoke, and how He was a fisher of man, how He caught men alive.

The Lord caught many fish – many disciples followed Him. Eventually, on the day of Pentecost, Peter became the first great fisher for the establishment of the kingdom of the heavens (Acts 2:37-42; 4:4).

To be a fisher of men doesn’t mean only that we preach the gospel to get people saved; it is to bring men out of the world and into the kingdom of the heavens.

The world is signified by the sea; the world is full of death waters, and people in the world are in death and darkness.

We believers in Christ need to be the fishers of men in reality to catch men alive and bring them into the kingdom of the heavens.

To catch men alive (Luke 5:10) is to catch them unto life (Acts 11:18) and bring them into the kingdom of the heavens. Praise the Lord, we are fishers of men!

We were rescued by the Lord from the death waters in the world, and now we follow our dear Lord Jesus to be fishers of men to catch men alive for the kingdom of the heavens!

Peter took the lead to do this on the day of Pentecost; he stood up with the eleven and spoke the gospel, and many fish were caught for the kingdom.

Many believed into the Lord, both from the Gentiles and from the Jews, and they came into the kingdom of the heavens.

Throughout the centuries many cooperated with the Lord to be the fishers of men, those who preached the gospel of the kingdom to catch people for the kingdom of God. Fishing requires a lot of patience; you cannot just go and catch a fish in a few minutes.

Peter was a quick person, so he had to learn to be patient. He probably learned this in Matthew 17:24-27, where we see that, when he was asked if his Master pays the tax, he quickly said that yes, Jesus does this.

Then later the Lord asked him whether the sons of the king pay tax, and Peter realised that Jesus as the Son of God does not pay the tax.

So the Lord sent him to catch a fish and in his mouth there would be a coin that would be enough for the Lord’s tax and Peter’s tax.

Most likely Peter pondered on this matter as he was going to catch a fish, realising that he needed to be patient and not react to things.

Catching men alive for the kingdom of God is not something quick; if we want to be fishers of men, we must have patience.

We must spend much time with the Lord and in His word, and we must spend much time to speak the word and cherishing the new ones so that they become part of the kingdom of the heavens.

If we would be men who gain others for Christ’s increase, we also need patience. We can’t have an increase in a quick way; we must be patient.

Our patience is Christ Himself; in catching men alive for God’s kingdom, we need to take Christ as our patience.

May we realise that we believers in Christ are fishers of men, those who bring men out of the world into the kingdom of the heavens for the increase of God’s kingdom, and we do this patiently.

Lord Jesus, thank You for rescuing us from the kingdom of Satan, the world as the kingdom of darkness. Hallelujah, we are now citizens of the kingdom of the heavens, and we are the fishers of men! Praise the Lord, we can cooperate with the Lord today to catch men alive for the kingdom of the heavens! Amen, Lord, we love You. We love Your word. We love Your kingdom. We want to be filled with Your word and speak Your word to others patiently to catch men alive for the kingdom of the heavens. Be our patience today. Grant us a heart for those around us, the many people who are in this dark world full of death. May we be fishers of men who bring men out of the world into the kingdom of the heavens one with You. Amen, Lord, grant us Your heart for others so that we may patiently speak the word of God to them and care for them until they become citizens of the kingdom of God! Oh Lord, enlarge Your kingdom through us today! May we function in the Body and one with You to be the fishers of men today! Amen!

Bring People into the Kingdom of the Heavens by Preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom, the Gospel of God’s Complete Salvation

The gospel of grace has been preached almost everywhere on earth, but what about the gospel of the kingdom?

The way to bring others out of the kingdom and into the kingdom of the heavens is by preaching the gospel of the kingdom, the gospel of God’s complete salvation, to the whole inhabited earth (Matt. 24:14; Luke 4:18- 19; Eph. 3:8-9).

If we look around us in Christianity, the gospel preached by many Christians is very superficial; it is not the gospel of the kingdom.

On the one hand, we rejoice with those who preach the gospel and some are saved, for many receive the life of God, and God gains many children.

On the other hand, who today preaches the gospel of the kingdom? We are the fishers of men, and we need to preach the gospel of the kingdom in order to rescue many from the world with its death waters and bring them into the kingdom of the heavens.

The gospel of the kingdom includes not only forgiveness of sins (Luke 24:47) and the impartation of the divine life (John 20:31) but also the kingdom of the heavens with the power of the coming age (Heb. 6:5) to cast out demons and heal disease (Isa. 35:5-6; Matt. 10:1).

Through believing in the Lord as a result of hearing the gospel, people receive forgiveness of sins and the divine life, and they become children of God. God gives authority to all those who believe into the Lord Jesus to become children of God. Hallelujah!

However, the Lord wants us to be fishers of men who preach the gospel of the kingdom, not only the gospel of forgiveness and of salvation but even more, the gospel of the kingdom to enlarge the kingdom of the heavens.

The gospel of the kingdom is not a different gospel; rather, this gospel includes the gospel of grace (Acts 20:24) to bring people not only into God’s salvation but even more, into the kingdom of the heavens (Rev. 1:9).

When someone preaches the gospel of grace, the emphasis is on forgiveness of sin, God’s redemption, and eternal life.

When we preach the gospel of the kingdom, however, the emphasis is on the heavenly ruling of God and the authority of the Lord.

We catch men alive for God’s kingdom not by preaching merely about the Lord dying for our sins to save us from eternal perdition; we are fishers of men by preaching the gospel of the kingdom.

The kingdom of the heavens is the highest definition of the gospel. The highest gospel is the gospel of the kingdom. The gospel of grace, the gospel of life, the gospel of salvation, and the gospel of forgiveness are all included in the gospel of the kingdom.

The gospel is for the kingdom, and the kingdom is brought in by the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom.

What God wants is not merely many people who are saved and have His life; He wants to enlarge His kingdom by the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom.

As fishers of men, we not only preach the gospel to save men and bring them into the church; we preach the gospel of the kingdom in order for God to enlarge His kingdom.

The emphasis of the gospel of grace is on forgiveness of sins, God’s redemption, and eternal life.

The emphasis of the gospel of the kingdom is on the heavenly ruling of God and the authority of the Lord.

The hub, the center, of all the things related to the gospel is the kingdom; all the other items – forgiveness of sins, God’s life, and reconciliation- are centered on the kingdom, which is the hub.

The gospel of life is for the kingdom. The gospel of salvation is for the kingdom. The gospel of forgiveness is for the kingdom. The real gospel is the kingdom; we preach the kingdom of God as the gospel.

May we be uplifted in our view of preaching the gospel, realising that we as fishers of men are catching men alive for the kingdom of the heavens by preaching the gospel of the kingdom.

May we cooperate with the Lord to preach the gospel of the kingdom to the whole inhabited earth for a testimony to all the nations before the end of this age comes! Amen!

May we in the church life rise up and preach the gospel of the kingdom in the place we are in, in our country, in our continent, and even to the uttermost part of the earth.

May we realise that God wants to fill the earth with His kingdom, and may we preach the gospel of the kingdom. God wants to fill the earth with the realm of His kingdom.

In the church life we live in the kingdom of God, and we allow the Lord to rule and reign in us. When we speak, we speak the gospel of the kingdom, and we want to enlarge the kingdom of God.

Lord Jesus, we want to cooperate with You today to preach the gospel of the kingdom! Amen, Lord, thank You for bringing us into Your kingdom. Thank You for delivering us out of the kingdom of darkness and transferring us into the kingdom of the Son of God’s love! We enthrone You in our being. You are our Lord and our King. We submit to You and we take You as our Lord. We want to be one with You today to preach the gospel of the kingdom to the whole inhabited earth. Amen, Lord, may we be fishers of men who preach the gospel of God’s complete salvation to those around us so that many may be brought into the kingdom of the heavens. We come to You in Your word and in the ministry to be constituted with the gospel of the kingdom. May we preach the kingdom of the heavens as the gospel so that many would be rescued from Satan’s kingdom and be brought into God’s kingdom! Amen, Lord, may we all rise up and preach the gospel of the kingdom today!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration for this article/sharing comes from the Word of God, the enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by brother Minoru Chen on this topic, and portions from, The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 1155-1157, by Witness Lee, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The Believers (1) (2026 July Semi-Annual Training), week 3, “The Wheat of Life, the Good Seed, the Salt of the Earth, the Light of the World, and the Fishers of Men” – day 6.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – The harvest’s ripe! We are preaching the full gospel now! / The fields are white! We are preaching the full gospel now! / For this men search— / Christ and the church! / Let us reap the harvest, preaching the full gospel now! (Hymns #1294 stanza 5)
  – Always in the Lord abiding, / As the branches fruit to bear; / By the inner life out-flowing / Christ with others we may share. / May our living be the preaching, / Making Christ to others known; / Not the word of doctrine-preaching, / But the seed of life be sown. (Hymns #925 stanzas 3-4)
  – There’s a church in New York City / Who the gospel does proclaim, / To the hungry, poor, and weary, / Sick, imprisoned, and the lame. / Now this gospel of the kingdom / Shall be preached until the end; / Till the Lord who with the kingdom / Of the heavens does descend. (Hymns #1263 stanza 4)