Fishers of Men

Some of you may have asked yourself at one point in your life, “What is my purpose?” This is a question worth asking, not because it invokes a solution to satisfy our own fulfillment of pleasure. It’s worth asking, because the answer is something that will only provide satisfaction to you as long as you live your life in in a manner that our Father has called us to, in this manner. We see this laid out in Genesis when God first made man during the creation, and there He instilled our purpose from the very beginning, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it.”[1] From here we can see God’s intent for man is to reproduce offspring, giving us our purpose to fill and subdue the earth, which in turn gives us our meaning. This is so much more than just a physical command. We’re going to spend this time looking into how this command still applies to us now, in a Spiritual context.

Outside of this weekend here, have you ever truly given thought to what eternity in Heaven or Hell means? I mean, like really thought about the fact the way that we conceive linear time literally goes on, forever, either in an indescribable paradise that we cannot even begin to imagine, versus the experience of endless punishment and despair? Just think about this… Anything that you’ve experienced that has brought you pleasure to any extent is just a glimpse of the joy, peace, and fulfillment that God has in store for those who have truly come to have a relationship with Him. And Hell, well, hell is the place of punishment we all deserve for our sins, and are paid by those who die without a relationship with Christ—a place of ultimate despair and desperation—known as the lake of fire, burning with brimstone. It is a place of endless terrible torture, dreadful agony, and soul-racking remorse, where hope never enters. Light will never shine there. There is only pain, gloom, restless agony, and indescribable torment, where there is weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth forever!

You may have noticed I spent more time describing Hell here than Heaven. I do that because Scripture does the same, and we should take this fact with us wherever we go—that every single second, two people die. That’s 172,800 people every day. 172,800 lives that are forever going to move into an unimaginable paradise, or torment that will never cease. Now apply this to your family, your best friend, your boss, coworkers, or staff, your neighbor. Scripture lays out that, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.” [2]We’re called to be Fishers of Men, and there’s a whole lot of people to be “caught”.

We see this exemplified with Christ, when he started his ministry, saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” [3]For those who don’t know, there are four written Gospels that give detail of Christ’s life here on earth. But there’s a fifth gospel we can share at any time—that’s the good news of what Christ has done in our very own lives. By now, you’ve nine testimonies from fellows just like us, who were lost without Christ, redeemed and justified by His sacrifice, and are now being daily sanctified through His grace, mercy, and justice, as we work to build up others along. Each of us that has a relationship with Christ has a testimony to share. To choose to hold this back is to choose to allow the possibility of someone losing their last opportunity to accept Christ before they take their last breath here.

I have the privilege to being able to deeply invest into the hearts of individuals through my mental health counseling. One thing I am very diligent in doing is bringing up the context from how I view people, the world, and the problems we face, through a Biblical lens. For those who choose to move forward with me know that I am not bashful to bring up elements of Scripture that may speak into their lives over what they are facing. I recently had an encounter with an individual that I quickly learned did not have a relationship with Christ and was deeply searching for something greater than himself to live for. I will never forget this person saying that in their search for God, they learned through AA that the “doorknob” could be their god. I took the opportunity to ask how this is working to fulfill the person and bring up what allows me to move forward with peace, through the fulfillment of my God. It was evident that this person was covered with shame, hurt, sorrows, and regrets, much like many of you were during some of these lessons we’ve experienced this weekend.

When it comes to sharing with others, we need to pray that God would not grant people we share with any peace until they come to the Prince of Peace with empty hands of faith. Charles Spurgeon said “If sinners be dammed, at least let them leap to hell over our bodies. If they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees. Let no one go there unwarned and unprayed for.” [4]

I don’t think we understand how important this is to our Father. I want to make one thing clear: When it comes to where we will spend our eternity, and the way that we get people there, we are His answer to this! There is no plan B! Romans 10:14-17 says,“14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!’”[5]

Sometimes I think that we have trouble thinking of the concept of fishing for men as a “catch and release” type of view, where many people think we should only share the gospel and move on. This is so much further from the truth. We should be carefully and intentionally investing in people who are hungry for Truth. This means that we should not just simply share the Gospel and dip out, but we should deeply invest and share our lives intentionally with other people, andbuild them up to love God, love others, and serve others, sharing Christ as they go.

We need to cultivate those whom we go fishing for. This means continued investment in them, and building them up! We see this in the way that Jesus works with his disciples, and others throughout Scripture – from David and Jonathan, to Elijah and Elisha, and Moses and Joshua. We see this further in explicit detail with Paul and Barnabas, then later Paul and Salis walking together, keeping one another in check, as they build up others, like Paul investing in Timothy, who teaches Timothy to invest in Titus. Just as we see here, we all need to have someone who is investing in us, that we can invest in, and that we can walk side-by-side with, as we go out into the world. When Jesus sent his disciples out, he always sent them out in pairs, even for simple chores, like fetching a donkey. Scripture lays out that we are working with others, there is greater return for our work (Ecclesiastes 4:9).

Additionally, if we go out alone into the world, there is greater risk of us falling ourselves, and I’ve been there. That’s why I harp on surrounding yourself with a brotherhood as you go out in the world. And if you’re married, this doesn’t mean you’re going out as a pair. Scripture says that God has made the two into one, because the man is to be leading his wife. And when you see a brother fall, we are to lift him up! This is a part of fishing that is often forgone. If we just let that brother fall, then we are no better than the priest or Levite who appears to be

About 3 years after Jesus his disciples, things get very hard, and Jesus lays down his life to be tortured and killed. Peter has just abandoned everything he’s said he’d never do, 3 different times, cursing out people and making a claim that he doesn’t even know Jesus. Feeling lost and defeated, Peter and a few of the others decide to go back to what they know—fishing. But they have no idea that Jesus has conquered death. Peter and the others have become like seed on rocky soil, and their faith has withered away.

How do we love Jesus like this? He lays it out in John 14:21, saying, “Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”[6]

Jesus leaves us with this final command before He ascends back to His heavenly throne while speaking with his disciples her on earth, saying in Matthew 28: 18-20, “18 All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”[7]

So, now that we know our purpose, let’s get back to the urgency of living this out every day. Life here is short. The book of James says that our lives are like a vapor, here today and gone tomorrow. That client that I told you about, who made a statement of their god being like a doorknob—4 days after I saw this person, they had taken their life.

As difficult as it is to say, if this person thought that life was bad while here on this earth, it pales in comparison to what this person is facing now—and there will never be another opportunity for hope for this person—for eternity.

[1]The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025), Ge 1:28.

[2]The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025), Mt 9:37a.

[3]The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025), Mk 1:15.

[4]Got Questions Ministries, Got Questions? Bible Questions Answered (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2002–2013).

[5]The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025), Ro 10:14–17.

[6]The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025), Jn 14:21.

[7]The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025), Mt 28:18–20.