06-18-06-Are You Fishing Challenged
The other day on The Early Show, there was two children (a boy and a girl) who had never caught a fish. So Rob (from the show, Survivor-known as “Boston Rob”) came on in what is called “Rob To The Rescue.” Now money is no object so what does he do, but set out to make sure these children catch fish. He rents a large boat and a professional bass fisherman (who has his own TV show) and they go fishing. Sure enough, the kids catch fish and have a great time. Their father is shown later with these words across the bottom of the screen “fishing challenged.” That got me to thinking about if I was “fishing challenged” when it comes to being a “fisher of men.”
¨ Matthew 4:18-22 (NIV) As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19 “Come, follow Me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 At once they left their nets and followed him. 21 Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed Him.
I went fishing with my Dad many times as a child. We would get up before sunrise and drive a couple of hours to a large lake on the border of Ohio and Pennsylvania called Lake Pymatuming. We would fish from sun up to sun down. Now, I wish I could say that I was a good fisherman, but I never was. Oh I caught a few fish, drowned a lot of worms, lost a lot of tackle, but never really felt like I got good at fishing and sometimes didn’t enjoy it all because we would bake out in the hot sun. But I knew that my Dad loved to fish and that was why I went, so I could be with him.
(Everyone loves a good fish story, so let me tell you one. It was a hot August day, and I thought I saw an alligator in Lake Pymatuming! No kidding. We had been out all day and had seen the schools of minnows coming down the lake from where the wildlife and fisheries dept had been releasing them upstream. The fishing that day was terrible. It was hot and no fish were biting. Well, I started to dose off and suddenly out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw an alligator. He was big and right on the top of the water. Well, Dad laughed when I told him I saw an alligator and of course when we got back on land he had to tell everyone at the bait shop of Ron’s alligator. He told them where on the lake I had seen it. A few weeks later we came back, and the bait shop owner, told me that someone had caught my alligator in just the spot where I had seen it. He showed me a picture of it and I discovered that it was a Muskie about 4 feet long. It was skimming across the top of the water and eating the schools of minnows—but it sure looked like an alligator to me. So that’s the one that got away!)
Now you are wondering what does this have to do with being “fishers of men?” As I thought about Boston Rob’s adventure for the children, I began to think about how many of us in the church may feel “fishers of men challenged.” So in honor of Dad’s today we are going to look at one of the favorite pastimes of most Dad’s—fishing. However, we are going to look at it from the viewpoint of what we can learn from natural fishing that we can apply to spiritual fishing.
1. Boat—To some fishermen, a fine bass boat is a necessity, but to others a small flat boat with oars is sufficient, or you can fish from the shore. What is the purpose of the boat? No matter how big a motor it has or how fancy it is, its basic function is to get you to the fish.
ô Just as a natural boat is what takes you to where the fish are, there must be some event or meeting that takes us where the fish are. I like to think of this as divine connections where God places us in the path of a man who needs Christ. We cannot catch men when we do not go where they are, no more than we can catch fish in this sanctuary. We must go to wherever the men are that God wants us to catch for His kingdom.
2. Bait—This is what attracts the fish to you. Without the bait the fish will swim around all day and you will never catch one. The bait can be either live (worms, minnows, crickets, etc) or artificial (lures, plastic worms, jigs, etc).
ô Bait is that which makes a man hungry for God. If a fish is not hungry it will not eat. Nor will a man who is satisfied with life desire the things of God. But when a man gets thirsty and hungry for righteousness, God promises He will fill him.
¨ Matt 5:6 (NIV) Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
ô Live bait is our testimony. The power of what God has done in your life can attract men to want to be a part of the kingdom of God. This is the gospel in action or in the flesh.
¨ Rev 12:11(NIV) They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. . .
ô Artificial bait is a tract, or some other material that is not personal but presents the Gospel. Many people have been caught by the words of a tract or message so this is an effective tool.
3. Hook—Even with the best bait, if you don’t have a hook you will never catch a fish (unless you are using a net). You also have to learn to set the hook properly, or the fish will spit it out and swim away.
ô This is how God uses the Holy Spirit to reach down into the heart of man and bring conviction and repentance. We have to learn to allow the Holy Spirit to work out His plan for them. Too often we want to set the hook too quickly and they are not ready. They will simply spit out our bait and run off. However, when God has prepared their heart and we speak a word to a man, God will set the hook in their jaw and they will not run away.
4. Fish Finder—This is optional, but it sure does help to find where the fish are. Without a good fish finder, you can cast your line in a place where there are no fish and you won’t catch anything.
ô Although optional for catching fish, I think this is critical for fishing for men—that is the power of prayer. We must pray and allow the Holy Spirit to take us where the men are that He has prepared for us to catch. To go where men are not ready is to get ahead of God and not productive for the kingdom. But to pray and ask God where to go is to be led to those who He has prepared who are ready to receive our good news.
5. Tackle—Rod & Reel/Net—The rod & reel help you to place the bait where the fish is. The better you are at casting, the better you are at putting the bait where the fish will find it. They also are important for bringing in the fish. Commercial fishermen use a net (like the disciples), but for the average person a rod and reel is the normal tackle.
ô The Word of God is our basic tackle. It provides the information concerning salvation that we need to make our bait truthful and powerful. The more scripture we can learn the better we are prepared to answer the questions of a man, the better we are at “reeling” them in. This is why we are told:
¨ 2 Timothy 2:15 (KJV) Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
6. Holding Tank/Bag/Stringer—You have to keep the fish alive or when you get ready to clean them, they will be no good and all your efforts will be in vain.
ô The church is the place where life can be given to a heart that is hungry for God. If we do not give life to those God brings to us, we will lose them. This shows us the importance of loving and caring for guests that God brings into our midst. If we shun them or are not friendly to them, they will leave and some may even leave God and die.
7. Guide—Someone who knows where the fish are can certainly make your fishing trip more enjoyable and allow you to catch more fish.
ô There can be no greater guide than the Holy Spirit. Only He knows the hearts of men and where they are in their lives. Only He can draw a sinful man into a personal relationship with God.
8. Knowledge about fish—Knowing the habits, likes and dislikes of fish makes it much easier to know where they are and how to catch them. There are basic facts about fish that are important. Such as the fact that they will move to deeper water when it gets hot. They also like places where they can hide called structure, so you often see men casting near underwater trees, shrubs, etc.
ô If we do not understand the habits, likes and dislikes of those around us who are lost we cannot reach them with the truth. We may be thinking they are in one place, when in reality they are somewhere else. There are definite seasons of life when men are more open to the gospel and we must be sensitive to these times—e.g. grief, tragedy, life events, etc.
9. Patience—This is probably one of the hardest things to learn about fishing. You have to be willing to wait on the fish to find the bait, take the bait, and then maybe you will get a chance to reel it in.
ô We are often impatient in trying to win souls to Christ. I call this “button-holing” people. When we share the gospel with them, we want them to make a decision right then—i.e. we want to reel them in as a trophy. Often times, we must plant seeds of love many times before they will finally take our bait and then we have to carefully bring them in to Christ through love not fear. A great way of looking at soul-winning is not trying to make the big catch, but to instead moving them one step closer to God. Maybe, it is the time when they will take the bait, but maybe it is just the time when they need to hear the truth of God’s goodness. Only God knows the heart of a man and learning to trust Him to work in a man’s heart takes great patience and wisdom.
10. Quiet—This is probably why I did not catch a lot of fish. I made too much noise. Fish must not be able to see or hear you or they will get spooked and swim away.
ô It is obvious that the one they should see in our lives is not us but Christ. If we step out of the way so they cannot see us, then Christ will be the one who they will run to for their salvation when they are ready. We must be sure that they see Christ in us, so they can fix their eyes on Him.
Finally, I want us to think about why some of us may not enjoy being “fishers of men.” I think this may be because we have gotten our eyes on being successful rather than having fun. We always want to compare who got the biggest or the most fish—it becomes a competition. When we get into the competition mode in spiritual fishing, we are trying to rack up points for how great a soul-winner we are. Jesus doesn’t need great soul-winners, He just needs men who will learn to fish and enjoy it for His kingdom’s sake.
Do you feel “fishing challenged” when it come to being a “fisher of men?” Then you need to sit at the Master’s feet and let Him teach you the joy of fishing for souls. Jesus said “I will make you fishers of men.” He will help you have fun and in the process His kingdom will be built. For He knows what men are hungry for the good news you have to give them and He will lead you to them. Then He will guide you in bringing them into the kingdom so that they will be able to grow and become “fishers of men” themselves.