Drawing the Net or Leading to a Commitment

Sharing Your Faith Made Easier

TEXT: Acts 2:40 TOPIC: Drawing the Net or Leading to a Commitment Pastor Bobby Earls, Northgate Baptist Church, Florence, SC Sunday evening, March 17, 2013

“Drawing the Net” was a common phrase in the first-century Galilean world.  To those who made their living as fishermen along the shores of the Sea of Galilee it meant the culmination of a fishing expedition—the harvest.

Jesus spent the majority of His earthly ministry along the shores of Galilee.  There He called His followers to become “fishers of men.”

One of those first followers called disciples to become fishers of men was a big fisherman named Simon Peter.  It was Simon who drew the net, leading 3000 to make a commitment to receive Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.

In Acts 2:40 (NKJV) the bible tells us with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse (or wicked) generation.”

When we share the Gospel, we have not effectively shared fully the Gospel unless we seek to draw the net and lead others to trust Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.

My father was a fisherman.  He loved to fish and rarely missed a week that he didn’t go fishing.  Unfortunately Sunday was his only off day so he or we always went fishing on Sundays.

JOKE @ two fishermen fishing on Sunday….. “We really ought to be in church.”  The other said, “I can’t go to church.  My wife is at home sick.”

Well, my dad the fisherman didn’t have a problem fishing on Sundays, but he did teach me a lot about fishing.  For one thing, he taught me to be positive.  He always believed we would catch fish, and not just a few fish but a lot of fish.

He also taught me to be a good fisherman needed to learn patience.  Sometimes the fish just are not ready.  They’re not biting. But a patient fisherman doesn’t give up easily.  Just keep fishing.  If we were not catching fish in one part of the Catawba River, we’d just pull in our lines and the anchor and move to a different part of the river.

He also taught me to be passionate about fishing.  He always said if you are going to be good at anything you have to be passionate about it. My dad put a lot of time and money in fishing because he was passionate about it.

That’s true about fishing for fish, but it is just as true about fishing for men.

Matthew 4:19 (NKJV) Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

To be a good fisher of men we must learn to draw the net.  But what exactly does that mean?

Drawing the net is what every preacher or Evangelist does when he extends the invitation for souls to trust Christ.  Drawing the net is what every believer does, after he has presented the message of salvation, he calls for a decision.  And drawing the net is what Peter did at Pentecost when the bible says, and with many other words he warned them and pleaded with them [to come to Christ]. Make It Prophetic

By prophetic I mean authoritative.  I have been asked by a few and I’m sure many others must have thought it, “What gives you the right to tell me I am a sinner?”  Or, “What right do you have to tell me I must repent and place my faith in Christ for salvation?”

And the answer to those questions is one thing:  the word of God.  The word of God, the word of Christ Himself, the One who has commissioned us to share the Gospel is the basis of my authority.

So the Bible itself, is the authority of God which commands us to share the Gospel, to call for decisions, to draw the net.

It was Peter who established a biblical authority for calling for a commitment.  When he repeatedly opened the scroll he set a prophetic parameter by 1) telling them what was happening, and 2) what he desired his hearers to do in response.

For example, he quoted the Prophet Joel, Joel 2:28–32 (NKJV) 28 “And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions. 29 And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. 30 “And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke. 31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. 32 And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the Lord Shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, As the Lord has said, Among the remnant whom the Lord calls.

His appeal was prophetic and biblical with the authority of heaven behind it.

It is appalling and pathetic today how few preachers actually appeal to the Bible as the authority of their message.

ILL. Billy Graham has always punctuated his evangelistic preaching over and over again with the words, “The Bible says….”

Being prophetic not only establishes our biblical authority but it is also profitable.

2 Timothy 3:16–17 (NKJV) 16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

From Genesis to Revelation we find example after example of this prophetic biblical authority for drawing the net.

Genesis 3:9 (NKJV) Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?”

When God asks questions, He is not asking for information, He is giving it.  God knew where Adam was, but He wanted Adam to know where Adam was.

Joshua 24:15 (NKJV) 15 And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

1 Kings 18:21 (NKJV) 21 And Elijah came to all the people, and said, “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people answered him not a word.

Revelation 22:17 (NKJV) 17 And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.

So proclaim the word from cover to cover.  When we do so we have Heaven’s authority behind us.

Make it prophetic, but also make it plain.

Make It Plain One of the biggest hurdles we face in drawing the net is the assumption that our hearers understand what we are asking them to do.  Many of the people with whom we share the gospel have had little to no church experience or background whatsoever.

Yet we often speak to them using spiritual language common to us but unknown or unclear to them.

Picture the woman in church who hears the pastor say during the invitation, “Won’t you come?”

Or the student who hears a friend advise, “You need to give your heart to the Lord?”

We understand these concepts, but many of the lost do not.

Many of the unchurched today don’t know who Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are.  They may think they are a Rock Band.

So we have to make it plain and make it practical.

Acts 2:14 (NLT) Then Peter stepped forward with the eleven other apostles and shouted to the crowd, “Listen carefully, all of you, fellow Jews and residents of Jerusalem! Make no mistake about this.

Acts 2:14 (The Message) “listen carefully and get this story straight.”

Peter built a bridge instead of a barrier for his hearers to come to Christ on Pentecost.

T/S—Make it prophetic, make it plain, and 3rd, make it positive

Make It Positive When I think about positive individuals I think of Zig Ziglar.  Zig has a saying when people ask him how he is doing.  He often responds, “Fantastic, but I’m trying to do better.” We need to be positive when we make our appeal for individuals to come to Christ.

Remember the outline of the CWT Gospel Presentation

LEADING TO A COMMITMENT

DOES WHAT WE BEEN DISCUSSING MAKE SENSE TO YOU?

IS THERE ANY REASON WHY YOU WOULD NOT BE WILLING TO RECEIVE GOD’S GIFT OF ETERNAL LIFE?

ARE YOU WILLING TO TURN FROM YOUR SIN AND PLACE YOUR FAITH IN JESUS RIGHT NOW?

T/S—Prophetic, plain, positive and finally, make it personal Make It Personal

Making the decision to become a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ is one of the most personal of life’s decisions.  So as we seek to lead others to Christ or to draw the net, we need to be personal in our appeal.

When we look again at Peter’s Pentecostal sermon in Acts 2, or that of the Apostle Paul in Acts 13, that’s exactly what we find.  The Apostles were not shy about making the Gospel personal.

When it was time to draw the net they moved from first- and third-person pronouns to second-person pronouns at the critical point of the appeal.

Listen to Peter standing on the temple mount in Jerusalem:

Acts 2:23 (NKJV) Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death;

Hear also the Apostle Paul speaking in the synagogue at Antioch:

Acts 13:38 (NKJV) Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins;

When we make our appeal we should aim for the heart as well as the head.

Acts 2:37 (NKJV) Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?”

CONCLUSION:

When we are inviting people to become followers of Christ, we are asking them to make the most personal decision they will make in their entire life.