1/26/20 Mark 1:14-20 “Let’s Go Fishing!”

24 Jan 1/26/20 Mark 1:14-20 “Let’s Go Fishing!”

1/26/20   Mark 1:14-20        “Let’s Go Fishing!”

I’m sure that all of you have noticed that we live in a fast paced, highly stressful world.  There is hardly anything that will wait.  Everything must be done yesterday or we suffer the consequences.  Since I’ve retired from full time ministry, I have managed to slow down a bit.  That along with a massive heart attack have made me take another look at how I live.  One of the things we can do to relieve stress is to have a hobby.  You need to find something to do where you can just leave the world behind and you totally enjoy the hobby or whatever.  You may not believe this but I write and post sermons for my hobby.  For many years while I was working, my hobby was fishing.  I would love to go early in the morning before anyone was up.  There was something about being on the lake for the sunrise that was very peaceful.  I would watch the eagles, pelicans and gulls as they fished for food.  Once in a while I would see a wild animal on the shore getting a drink of water.  It didn’t matter to me if I caught any fish or not because it was so peaceful.  Usually I would throw back the fish because they weren’t big enough to keep.  Anyway, I fished as a hobby.  Today we are going to talk about fishing for men.  Let’s see if we can apply any of this to our lives.

I will begin today with a story from Gerald Flury.  He tells of a man named Hudson who was traveling on a Chinese junk from Shanghai to Ningpo.  He had been witnessing to a man named Peter who had rejected the Gospel.  A little later Peter fell overboard but no one made any effort to save him.  Hudson sprang into action.  He lowered the sail and jumped over the side to find his new friend.  He searched and still no one on the boat helped.  He saw a fishing boat nearby and asked them for help.  They refused to help until Hudson promised them a large amount of money.  They finally cast their net and in less than a minute they found him but it was too late.  They had been too busy trying to make money by fishing that they couldn’t help keep a man from drowning.  I think that many of us are guilty of the same type of thing.  We all know people who are in trouble and on their way to hell and yet we do nothing.

Therefore, let us compare fishing for fish and fishing for people.  As we learn how to fish and the first thing to do is to know where the fish are located.  Please note that you have to go to a body of water to find fish.  When I first started to fish on this particular lake, I had no idea where to go on the lake.  I didn’t know how deep the lake was, where it was deep and shallow or where others had caught fish.  Therefore the fish I caught the first couple of times out, I was just lucky.  I didn’t know where the fish were.  The first thing I did was find a map of the lake and then I studied it.  Then I got myself a depth finder so I could tell how deep the lake was at any place.  I also talked with people who fished from our campground.  The only fisherman I didn’t listen to was the one that said there were no fish in this lake.  I knew they were there as I had seen pictures of some real trophy fish.

Anyway, so where are the human fish located?  The easy answer is all around us.  Some think that you will find them in our churches.  This is partially right but there is a huge mix of different amounts of faith in any church.  This isn’t a real good place to fish but it might be a great place to come and replenish your bait and fuel and so forth.  It is also a good place to bring someone who is curious or searching.

I think that the best place to go to find the fish are in your own personal groups.  These could be coffee groups, work groups, lunch groups or sporting groups.  Just about any place where you gather in this country you will find the unsaved.  You might be surprised to find that even some people who claim to be Christian have never invited Jesus into their lives.  I’m a pastor and I belong to several groups around town.  These people all know that I’m a pastor and they treat me accordingly.  I in turn try to treat them as I would any person I know.  I try to be nice and available.  But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Now that we know where the fish are, we have to figure out how fish behave.  Does the particular fish you want travel in schools or by themselves?  Do you find this fish in deeper water or in shallower places?  When they strike your hook are they aggressive or more passive?  There are many, many things to know about how a fish will behave in certain conditions.  I remember catching a nice northern and the first thing he tried to do was go right to the bottom and the weeds.  Bass will try this also.  Some fish start to come in and then they want to get under the boat.  Some fish have teeth so sharp that they can even bite through steel lines.  There is a reason why the fishing industry is so big.  Bass Pro and Cabela’s make half of their sales by offering fishing supplies.

And it really doesn’t matter what you are trying to catch.  You have to know how someone will behave.  You may think that this should be pretty easy but it’s not.  When we present Jesus to someone, we are actually pointing out that they are sinners.  Now we know that all people sin and fall short of the glory of God but the general population doesn’t know this.  I would say that most of the unsaved people of the world think that they are really pretty good people.  They don’t think that they sin that much.  Therefore be ready for some kick back when you present the Bible.  This is a good place to talk about gifts.  Only some of us are gifted in evangelism or presenting the Gospel.  But we all have gifts.  This is why I always try to tell you that no matter what you are doing, do it in the name of Jesus.  By doing this, you will be planting the Gospel seed in them and it will be easier for the next person to help them find the truth in Jesus.  But I’m getting a little ahead of myself here again.  It is also nice to know things like occupations, how much money a person makes or has, who their friends are and so on.  The more you know about a person, the easier it will be to help them.  It’s just plain common sense.  This is how you make friends with anyone.

It’s also common sense as to what strategies you use to catch fish.  As I said, there is a huge industry in this country devoted to catching fish.  There are books written on the strategies you can use to catch fish.  My main strategy was to just go out there and start fishing.  I usually went early in the morning for 2 reasons.  First and most important was that everyone was still asleep at the camper and I didn’t want to disturb them.  The 2^nd reason was minor compared to that.  Fishing is usually better in the morning.  Sometimes I would troll along to catch fish.  Sometimes I would just drift with the current.  Other times I would still fish and cast into the area where I wanted to fish.  I could go on about the bait and the rods I used.  There are dozens and dozens of strategies used to catch fish.

I think the same is true when we are fishing for men.  I have been out several times where we went door to door with the message.  It was a rare occurrence when someone would slam the door on us.  More often we would find someone who needed Jesus and some needed Him right now.  I also use a strategy when I’m preaching and many of you may have noticed.  Usually at some point in the sermon I will invite people to come and know Jesus on a personal basis.  If you don’t know Jesus then confess, repent and invite Him in now.  Don’t wait!  I don’t know for sure but I would guess that I have never preached where all the people know Jesus.  If I can just reach one person, then it is all worth it.  You also may notice that I will tell you what the Bible says regardless of what our society says.  That is because you need, you deserve the truth.  I also try to leave you on a positive note.  When you are talking to children, or young people or old people, you might want to present Jesus a little differently to the different age groups.  There will be times when you are serving the poor when you just mention the name of Jesus.  You can go to any bookstore and find hundreds of other strategies for sharing the Gospel.  But the one thing that remains for both kinds of fishing is that you have to go out and actually do it.

The next thing we talk about when fishing is this.  I don’t think I ever went out fishing and I didn’t expect to catch any fish.  I mean, why would I even go out if I didn’t expect to catch something?  Oh, there were times when I thought I might not catch much due to conditions or whatever but I was always ready to catch a fish.  I always had the net handy.  I had a place to put the fish after I caught them and I usually had a thermos of coffee to sip on between fish.  Sometimes I even had a sandwich or donut handy.

This is something you have to remember when you go fishing for people.  You never know when you will be just the right person that someone needs.  You don’t know if it will be at your work or play or in your down time.  It might even be on a Sunday!  So what do you need to know in order to expect catching a person?  First of all, make sure that you read your Bible and pray.  This is so important and that’s why I bring it up so much.  You also need to know a short version of your own conversion.  Always be ready to tell your story.  Most people come to Christ with some personal connection.  You may not think that your story is anything special but someone else might need to hear it and it will save their life.  You don’t have to get all worried about saying a sinner’s prayer or formally helping someone to Christ.  You may only have to help them to confess, repent and ask Jesus into their life.  Don’t make this too hard or too complicated.  Jesus lived and died for us and that is the story.  Most of the time when you come across someone who is very needy for Jesus they will make it easy for you to help them.  They will go along with whatever you say so keep it simple.

Finally we have the last item to help you become a fisherman and that is to be patient when you are fishing.  I don’t know how many times I have sat in the boat fishing and come back home with little or nothing to show for it.  But do you know what I did next?  The very next morning I would be out there fishing again.  If you keep in mind all of the fishing tips I have given you so far, then this last one will be easy.

There was a very good reason why I took coffee, a snack and maybe a radio when I went fishing.  I was always prepared in case I didn’t catch any fish immediately.  You don’t always know when the fish will bite or what they will bite on.  In days when the fishing was slow, I could just relax with some coffee.  I don’t know how many times I saw boats go and fish this area for 5 minutes, then go to another place for five minutes and still another for five minutes more.  Fishing is a hobby of patience.

And it’s the same way if you are fishing for people.  You have to have patience.  Most of the time people will not accept Jesus on their first exposure.  This country used to be a Christian country but not so much anymore.  There are many, many people who know nothing about Jesus because we raised basically a generation without Jesus.  It’s going to take time to be a Christian country again.  However, there is a upside to this patience.  When you are out doing whatever your gifts have do, you will be attracting people.  You might even be making new friends.  Then you keep on being a Christian and these people will keep on asking what you have that they don’t as you show them the good life.  They want that also.  Then you help them to come to Christ and they will be forever grateful.

Attracting people to Christ isn’t that easy but the good news is that it isn’t that hard either.  One of the biggest problems we have in this country is a disease called depression.  Maybe some of you know about this first hand.  Well, I know something that may help you or others out.  It’s not a cure but it’s on the right path.  According to Dr. Carl Memminger, a noted and highly respect psychiatrist, the best way to beat depression is to leave your house and go to the local mission or someplace where they serve less fortunate people than yourself and help in the name of Jesus.  There is something about helping others that eases depression.  And while you are helping others, you will be serving Jesus Christ who wants you to be His hands and feet in this world. You will be fishing for people.  This is what I would call a win-win situation.

Hopefully, today you have learned a little more about how to fish for people.  Please remember that Jesus Christ is in charge of all of this.  He will take over if you get in trouble.  I don’t know how many times I have said, “Where did that come from?” after talking with some people.  Please let go and let Jesus.  He loves you and will help you out in any situation.  You should be very grateful that you have His love.  Thank you Jesus for first loving us.  Let’s pray.