Simon Peter was astonished by the large number of fish he caught at Jesus' command. When Jesus appeared, Peter fell at his knees, acknowledging that he was a sinful man. Jesus told Peter not to be afraid and that from now on he would "catch men." Jesus later chose twelve disciples, including Peter, to be his apostles and send them out to preach. He gave them power and authority over demons and to heal sickness.

2. “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 and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish
which they had taken; and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were
partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch
men.’” (Luke 5:8-10)
We can
understand
how
discipleship
works by
studying the
story of the
miraculous
catch of
fish.
Man
Obeying the word of Jesus: “at Your word I
will let down the net.” (Luke 5:5)
Accepting God’s holiness: “Depart from me, O
Lord!” (Luke 5:8)
Accepting my sinfulness: “I am a sinful man.”
(Luke 5:8)
GOD
Leading, caring and protecting: “Do not be
afraid.” (Luke 5:10)
Preparing me to be a disciple: “I will make you
fishers of men.” (Matthew 4:19)

3. “And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He
chose twelve whom He also named apostles.” (Luke 6:13)
Apostle means “one who is sent away.”
Jesus picked the twelve apostles to send
them to preach the Gospel as ambassadors of
the Kingdom.
Why did Jesus choose those twelve men?
Was there something special in them?
We don’t for sure which was the occupation
of half of them before following Jesus. Four
of them were fishermen; one of them was
tax collector and one of them was a
revolutionary.
They were no special at all. Nevertheless,
they loved the Kingdom of God. They longed
for being with Jesus. So Jesus “had chosen
them as men whom He could imbue with His
Spirit, and who could be fitted to carry
forward His work on earth when He should
leave it.” (E.G.W., Education, cp. 9, pg. 84)

4. “Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and
authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. He sent them to preach the
kingdom of God and to heal the sick.” (Luke 9:1-2)
According to the above quote, how does the great commission work?

5. “After these things the Lord appointed seventy others
also, and sent them two by two before His face into
every city and place where He Himself was about to go…
Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, ‘Lord, even
the demons are subject to us in Your name.’” (Luke 10:1,17)
Those 70 disciples were commanded to
preach the Gospel, so preaching is not
reserved to priests and elders only.
Every Christian must be involved in
this mission.
When our mission is
successful, Satan is
defeated (v. 18).
The greater the effort,
the greater the power
(v. 19).
Our joy should not be
rooted in success but
in entering the
Kingdom of Heaven
(v. 20).
What did Jesus say about the result of
the seventy’s mission (Luke 10:18-20)?

6. “As Christ sent forth His disciples, so today He sends forth the
members of His church. The same power that the apostles had
is for them. If they will make God their strength, He will work
with them, and they shall not labor in vain. Let them realize
that the work in which they are engaged is one upon which the
Lord has placed His signet.”
E.G.W. (The Acts of the Apostles, cp. 58, pg. 599)

7. “Then He said to them all, ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him
deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.’” (Luke 9:23)
The cost of discipleship may be summarized in three verbs:
Denying, taking up and following.
Denying myself. I’m no longer my old
“me”. That “me” is dead and I’m a new
person in Christ.
Taking up my cross. I must accept my
new responsibility as a disciple. I may
even have to pay a high price to accept
it.
Following Jesus. Jesus must be the only
one leading my life.
Without people walking in the footprints of
Calvary, there is no Christian discipleship.

8. “Those who would be victors should contemplate
and count the cost of salvation. Strong human
passions must be subdued; the independent will
must be brought into captivity to Christ. The
Christian is to realize that he is not his own. He will
have temptations to resist, and battles to fight
against his own inclinations; for the Lord will
accept no half-way service. Hypocrisy is an
abomination to Him. The follower of Christ must
walk by faith, as seeing Him who is invisible. Christ
will be his dearest treasure, his all and in all.”
E.G.W. (God’s Amazing Grace, September 20)