Goes Fishing

INTRO: fisherman have many stories, sometimes they’re true. (Tell fishing stories)

Every fisherman also has a story about “the one who got away”.

There are some, who we as Christians, have unfortunately had get away from us. Maybe we tried to set the hook too quickly, maybe we weren’t patient enough, or maybe if we had done better or said something better…whatever the case may be.

Everyone has a fish story…what’s yours? If you’re a Christian who does as Jesus commanded to go fishing for people and trying to spread the Gospel — you will have great stories. But you will also have those that “get away”, that you don’t quite get into the boat of safety.

And you should feel bad, you should have sadness to some degree — because that means you care about souls! If you didn’t care at all or feel any remorse or any regret of taking opportunities it’s time for a heart check. Consider Paul’s heart for souls:

Romans 9:1–3 “I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit— that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh.”

Paul had a deep PASSION for the lost. And Paul tells us why! In Acts 20:24 “But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.”

He knew he received and assignment from Jesus but also he knew the awesome amount of grace given to him as well — and because he understood and was so grateful for it, he wanted others to have exactly what he had. He was passionate about his salvation and therefore was passionate for others to be saved too! And when you have a passion, it burns and stings when you come up short.

God has given us a message and a responsibility. Salvation comes with responsibility.

We will have success! We will have those that get away…but know this: It’s not our job to force “Gospel Acceptance”, but to make it the Gospel Accessible. It’s not on you or I to make someone into a Christian and make them make the best choice of their life. It’s only our job to give them the opportunity. If they don’t accept it, we haven’t failed. Our mission isn’t to change people — Thats HIS job! Our job is to be messengers. Our effort is to get the message out in the hope that they’ll bite. If they don’t, it’s not your fault. The worst thing that can happen isn’t you and I being rejected….the worst thing is us doing nothing. You may not catch all the time, but if you fish enough you will.

Part of what makes us a healthy Church is of course following the great commission, Matt.28:19-20 —— Go. Disciple. Baptize. Teach. Trust God.

How do you fish? Some like to get in their boats and go to the sweet spots, find a good log to go fishing near or section hat always does real well. You can also just stand on the bank or stand on the dock and that works well too. Some Christians have done that. They go evangelizing by sitting on the pew waiting for someone to come to them — but in many respects the fish stopped biting a long time ago like that.

The great commission is for each Christian. Each of us Christians are meant to GO. We each have the mission from Jesus that we each strive to be one and make one. Notice I’m not saying be one and convert the masses.

Discipleship and evangelism works best when you reach out to someONE, study with someONE, baptize someONE, and keep staying with that ONE to grow together for what probably should be a couple years as Christians together. If there is more than one great, but realistically the best quality comes from that deeply personal approach from before the baptistery and continuing after.

That makes it more realistic, more manageable, easier to wrap our minds around and willing to do… right? You don’t need to go change the world on your own, you just need to reach into someONE’s world with the Gospel.

Let’s see one example of how Jesus did it.

John 3:1–2 — You Need A Good Fishing R.E.E.L.

Nicodemus had plenty of teachers, he had his own teachings and knowledge — but Jesus won a hearing by the quality of life he lived. He earned an audience and the right to be heard.

We’re not Jesus and we don’t perform miracles…but can still REEL them in.

Respect: Earn it by how you live.

People are more willing to listen when they first respect the way you live your life. Integrity, humility, and consistency go a long way in opening someone’s heart to the truth.

Example: Your life is your first sermon. You may be the only Bible they read.

Before anyone hears what you believe, they watch how you behave — really, they watch how you BELEIVE since real faith/belief is seen. A Christlike example can preach louder than any words ever could.

Engagement:

Be approachable, involved, visible.

You can’t reach people you’re never around. Step into their world—be present at work, at ballgames, in conversations, and let them know you genuinely care.

Love:

Show genuine care before you share the gospel.

No one wants to feel like they’re just a task on your spiritual to-do list. If your only interest in someone is to “fix” them or convert them, they’ll sense it—and it will feel shallow and insincere.

They need a person who truly sees them. Love isn’t a strategy; it’s the heartbeat of evangelism.

Why does this matter? How presumptuous and foolish am I to think I can barge into someone’s life and demand to be heard, and every word taken to heart where they change their entire life based on what I as a stranger say to them. Can it happen, sure...but will it? Most likely not. I shouldn’t expect that.

(PPT) We need to earn the right to be heard, we need to earn trust so that we can point them to someone better to place that trust in.

No we can’t do it quite like Jesus did, but we can be the salt and light in their life no one else is being. We can speak positively to them. We can buy someone coffee. We can visit them in the hospital. We can provide a home cooked meal. When you’re looking at people you can evangelize to, you ought to be looking at what they need in their life from you in addition to the Gospel.

People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.

Do people know you’re from God? Do they recognize something about you as special, different than the world?

Acts 4:13 “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.”

What are you known for? What are you known by? If it’s not Jesus first, let’s take steps to change that.

You can’t go fishing with the wrong equipment — or no equipment at all.

John 3:3-6 — You Need Good Fishing Line (genuine conversation)

(PPT) Jesus opened his mouth to engage in GENUINE conversation. He didn’t hand him a tract, he didn’t draw a stairway to heaven with 5 bible verses on a napkin, he didn’t talk with cliches, he didn’t jump to topics of instrumental music and roles and Lord’s supper — He started with genuine conversation that was specific between the two of them, the Kingdom of God. (V.3)

V.3-4

Born again language is spiritual “get right with God” language

Jesus is teaching that life in God's Kingdom begins with a single, defining moment — a spiritual birth. When He says, “No one can see/enter the kingdom,” He’s not just talking about physical sight — He means you can’t truly experience, understand, or take part in the Kingdom without being born again. These two phrases — see and enter — lead to the same conclusion: new birth is essential.

Nicodemus had heard the language of “born again,” but he didn’t grasp how it applies to someone like him. So, Jesus builds on what Nicodemus already knows, much like how He builds on the understanding people had of John’s baptism — taking familiar truths and revealing their deeper, spiritual significance.

V.5-6

When Jesus talks about being "born of water and the Spirit," He’s not describing two different moments—but one powerful event: baptism.

Baptism is dying to the old and being renewed – this is not foreign or a new idea to the Jews.

In John’s gospel, baptism is consistently tied to water and to life in the Spirit.

Before baptism in Jesus, people who were baptized were doing it because they believed God, admitted they were wrong, repented of sin, and embraced His purpose for their life.

To refuse baptism was to reject God’s purpose for them. Luke 7:28–30, “I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” (When all the people heard this, and the tax collectors too, they declared God just, having been baptized with the baptism of John, but the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.”

Jesus is showing Nicodemus that spiritual birth is not just an inner decision—it’s something God defines, not us. God sent John to begin preparing the way, and He sent Jesus to complete it. This spiritual birth process—from above—is God-orchestrated, and Spirit-powered.

That phrase “born again” also means “born from above.” It’s not just about starting over; it’s about being born of God’s Spirit which results in being born as a Child of God. To be "born again" is to let God give you new life. Being baptized is a PASSIVE act! You’re not doing all those things, you’re submitting to God who creates you to be new and given life in Him.

V.9-15

Nicodemus is flabbergasted, he is having trouble accepting the truth. So Jesus here is saying humble yourself and accept the truth for what it is!

Jesus could tell Nicodemus was still struggling to accept what He was saying. Like many, he wanted to not just understand but fathom the depth of everything before he believed—but Jesus calls him to believe and trust in order to grow in understanding.

Jesus says, “The Son of Man must be lifted up…” (v.14). This was a clear reference to the cross. He’s pointing Nicodemus—and us—back to a story Nicodemus would’ve known well: Numbers 21, when poisonous snakes bit the Israelites. God told Moses to lift up a bronze serpent on a pole. Anyone who looked at it in faith would live.

That serpent on the pole represented the very thing that had bitten them.

When we look to Jesus on the cross, we’re staring at the cost of our sin.

The cross confronts us with the truth: sin is deadly—but grace is greater.

Just like the serpent, Jesus was lifted up—provided by God, accessible to all, and the only cure. No one was forced to look, but anyone who did was healed. Faith saved them. Faith saves us.

Jesus isn’t just giving Nicodemus new theology—He’s giving him new vision.

You must be born again.

You must believe.

You must look to Jesus—lifted up—and believe in Him and His words to be able to live.

But you must WANT and be WILLING to look to Jesus!

This was genuine conversation that was done in relatable language to one another.

(PPT) What does genuine conversation look like for us? A conversation starter in the break room probably shouldn’t start with “have you been born again?”, but maybe instead “do you worship anywhere? Would you like to come with ME sometime?”

Don’t make a sales pitch - have a conversation. Don’t use just any religious terminology, meet them where they’re at and use relatable language.

Jesus didn’t leave it open ended, he got to the point, but there was back and forth up to that point, questions and answers.

John 3:16 — Set The Hook! (the point is the Gospel)

(PPT) Don’t forget when you’re fishing, you have to set the hook. Here’s how Jesus did it! In this verse He says something about God’s love, about Himself, about life, and about faith. That’s the message we need, that’s the message we have!

(PPT) Here it is—the most well-known verse in the Bible, it captures the entire mission of God in one sentence: God loved. God gave. We believe. We live.

When the verse says “God so loved the world,” this is about sacrificial action.

1 John 4:10 “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

The plan from the beginning was to rescue every sinner that would believe, He didn’t set out to condemn. It’s a RESCUE mission, but you’ve got to accept the hand reaching out!

(PPT) And YOU Christian need to be extending the hand too!!

The message in context is that real belief will have obedient action.

For Nicodemus, will he stay on his course or will he follow? Following Jesus will interfere with your life, it will always cost you something, there will always be things that need to change when you go from not following Jesus to being a dedicated disciple.

Jesus is saying to the man who came to him at night in secret, “Nicodemus, you need to follow in the daytime as well!”

Jesus in this verse was getting to the point, like our conversations should. We must say something about love and how good God is, about the hope we have in the son of God in a hopeless world, about life that we are seeking for eternity that comes through the Son, and of course about real belief and faith that leads to repentance and baptism into Jesus.

Have the right bait. What you win people with, is what you win them to. We need to win people to Jesus — not to ourselves, our group, or anything else.

To love Jesus means to love what He loves…Jesus loves the lost. To love someone means to want what’s best for them, and to do your best to see that they have the chance for it.

You will have the ones that got away. But you will lose out on many if you never pick up the tools God gave you and go to work as Jesus directed.

Ramifications of spreading the Gospel — losing friends, family no longer being around you….but that’s the same ramifications if we don’t share the Gospel with them.