Learning to Fish

Vision Month - Week 2

Hope City Church is a family on a mission to see...

A growing number of people saved and added to the church.

What kind of Church is Jesus building? Family on a mission. Lifeboat not cruise ship.

If the church is a lifeboat and we’re aboard - that means our job is pretty clear, we’re about the business of saving people.

Luke 5:1–10 ESV

1 On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, 2 and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. 4 And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” 6 And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. 7 They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. 8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” 9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, 10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.”

When Jesus’s called his disciples he showed them a prophetic picture of their future ministry. When they obeyed Jesus’s words they caught so many fish their nets were breaking - and as this was unfolding Jesus says to Simon Peter ‘from now on I will make you fishers of men.’

They were already fishermen, and now Jesus promised to make them fishers of men. The truth is, in a sense, we’re all fishermen too. Everyone is fishing for something...

Do you think that after this the disciples would have expected that maybe they would each catch one or two men during the course of their ministry? No way! They had seen their ships sinking with the catch that Jesus had brought in, they would have expected that if they followed Jesus they would be very successful fishers of men!

It has become unpopular in certain circles to admit to wanting to see church growth. Oh you mustn’t desire that, that’s arrogant, that’s crass that’s presumptuous. But I’ve never heard of a fisherman who didn’t desire to catch more fish! We are to have that same desire in us to see the Church of Jesus Christ grow through souls being saved, because has also made us fishers of men!

Look at the Apostle Paul as an example in 1 Corinthians 9, in verse 22 he says that he has become all things to all people. Why? That by all means he might save some!

Some might prickle a bit at the way Paul phrases that - I might save some?! Wait a minute Paul! You don’t save anyone! Do you want to go back and have another read of your letter to the Ephesians?! But Paul isn’t contradicting himself - He is the Apostle that taught that salvation is of the Lord countless times in his letters. But he doesn’t shy away from putting that verb TO SAVE in the first person. The Apostle believed that he had some level of personal responsibility in the salvation of souls.

Fishing story - When I was taught to fish, if I hadn’t caught anything for a while I wouldn’t just shrug my shoulders and say ‘well, it’s up to God how many fish I catch’, I was taught to check the variables - I would check the bait again, I would cast out to a slightly different place, maybe throw some feed out near my float. Whatever I did I certainly wouldn’t sit there idly.

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results

It’s the same when it comes to our witnessing - if we haven’t ever led anyone to Christ, then maybe we need to assess the variables. Is there something we can change? Perhaps we need to look again at our prayer life, are we consistently praying for friends and family to know the Lord? Or maybe we need to ask God for courage to start a conversation with them about faith, or to invite them to home group or church.

The Apostle Paul was ready to make changes and concessions in order to win people to Christ.

No one was more yielding in matters of indifference, no one was more unyielding in matters of principle than this apostle. - Charles Hodge

Not that Paul would do anything sinful or ungodly in order to save others - but he was eager to let go of his personal preferences, comforts and customs if it meant that others would more easily hear the gospel.

This is such an important message for this cultural moment - we live in a time of outrage and culture wars, we are taught to see those who don’t share our views as not simply wrong but as dangerous and potentially evil.

As Christians we have to think deeply about how we navigate this moment. Our top priority ought to be that we help as many as possible hear the gospel. Are people struggling to hear us maybe because of how they saw us interact with that person who disagreed with us in the comments? Or maybe because what they’re hearing from us isn’t mostly gospel but is politics, current affairs and outrage. We have to be careful not to get sidetracked into the culture wars, into that ‘us vs them’ mindset that the world wants for us to have.

Story about Annabel.

The message of the gospel is offensive enough without us giving people other reasons to be offended! In a cultural climate that is aggressive how can we be gentle in our witness, in a culture that is mean how can we be kind, in a world that is selfish how can we show generosity.

So Paul was yielding when it came to non-essentials, he wanted to give his hearers no reason for offence other than the offence of the gospel.

However Paul was unyielding when it came to essentials. Paul never switched the bait! He would never change the gospel in order to win more people. Why? Because he wasn’t winning people to himself, but to Jesus, and if he changes the gospel of Jesus Christ in order to attract people, then he is no longer winning them to Christ but to himself.

Paul was under cumpulsion to preach the gospel. He says ‘woe to me if I do not preach the gospel.’ What gospel? The good news that Jesus Christ, the son of God has died for our sins and risen again for our justification, believe in him and you shall be saved. That’s our message, that’s what we are fishing with.

So we can change our style of fishing, but we don’t get to switch the bait.

Ultimately, everyone in this world is a fisherman of sorts. Everyone is fishing for something; whether it’s fame, money, pleasure or glory. But when Jesus comes into your life he makes you a fisher of men. Your overriding desire and defining aim in life is to see others come to know the Lord and be saved. And you’re not happy unless you’re catching!

So what are you fishing for?

What does your catch look like?