There was a young boy who wanted to go down to the lake and fish, and his mother asked him to take his little sister along. Well, he protested vigorously. He said, "Mama, the last time she came with me I didn't catch a single fish."
The mother said, "Well, I will talk to her and I promise this time she won't make any noise."
The boy said, "It wasn't the noise Mom, she ate all my bait."
I have come to the conclusion that there are basically four reasons why people do not catch fish: (1) Some people are using the wrong bait. (2) Some people are fishing in the wrong lake, that is, they don't know where the fish are. (3) Some people have got the right bait and they're in the right lake, but they don't know how to fish. (4) Then there are some people who have the right bait, and they're in the right lake, and they know how to fish, they're just not going fishing.
The Lord Jesus came not only that we might put our faith in Him, but that we might go fishing with Him.
You see, our problem is not that we have the wrong lake. The water is full of fish. The problem is not that we have the wrong bait. We have the gospel which can hook any fish. Our problem, I believe, is one of ignorance and apathy. There are many Christians who believe they do not know how to share the Lord Jesus, and then there are many who just don't want to go.
Either way, I believe Dr. R. G. Lee was right who said, "The greatest sit-down strike in the world is in our churches, where those who claim to be saved have never become fishers of men."
We're going to do all that we can in this church to educate you to share the Lord Jesus, and to motivate you to do it in an everyday fashion. Now you are going to discover that telling people about Jesus involves four simple practical steps:
I. Following the Savior
Jesus said, "Follow Me." Quite frankly, that is where the Christian life begins and ends—in following Jesus. Now literally what that says in the Greek language is: "Come behind Me." That is, "Get behind Me, fall into My footsteps, and do as I do." In other words, we are to follow the Lord Jesus just as a disciple follows his master.
Notice the Lord Jesus does not just say, "Look at Me," "learn from Me," "love like Me," nor "listen to Me." He says, "Follow Me!" Life's greatest decision is this: "Am I going to follow Jesus or not?"
Jacob Neusner is a modern rabbi, and the world's preeminent scholar on Judaism of the early Christian era. He has written five hundred books, one of which is entitled A Rabbi Talks with Jesus. That book answers the question of how this Jewish Rabbi would have responded to Jesus Christ.
In the book Neusner makes it plain he has great respect for Jesus and for Christianity. He even admits that the Sermon on the Mount leaves him "impressed and moved." He says that sermon alone would have quickened enough interest to have motivated him to have joined the crowd who followed Jesus from place to place listening to His teaching.
But then Rabbi Neusner says he would have parted company with Jesus Christ. He said, "Jesus takes an important step—in the wrong direction by moving the emphasis from "us" as a Jewish community, to an "I."
Neusner says he could not go along with the shift from the Torah to Jesus Himself as the central authority. He concludes by saying this: "At issue is the figure of Jesus, not His teachings….in the end the Master, Jesus, makes a demand that only God makes." Then Neusner turns away and refuses to place his faith in Jesus Christ.
Now Neusner was right in one respect. Jesus made a statement that only God would make when He said, "Follow Me." It boils down to this: If Jesus is God, follow Him; if not, forget Him. John Maxwell, who is a great authority on leadership, made the statement that people will not follow a positional leader beyond his stated authority. That is, people ultimately cannot and will not follow a leader unless that leader deserves to be followed.
Billy Graham was in a certain town years ago, and he wanted to mail a letter, but he had no idea where the post office was. So he stopped a little boy walking the street and asked him if he could direct him to the nearest post office. Well, the little boy said, "Yes sir, go down to the red light, turn right, go two blocks to the second red light, turn left, go one block, turn back to the right and you will be right there."
Dr. Graham thanked him and said, "Son, if you will come to the Convention Center this evening, you can hear me telling everybody how to get to heaven." The boy said, "Well, I don't think I'll be there mister, you don't even know your way to the post office."
Well I want to tell you that Jesus not only knows the way to heaven, He is the way to heaven. He not only knows how to live, He is life more abundant. The very first command He ever gave to any disciple was: "Follow Me." For that is where discipleship begins and ends in following Jesus.
II. Finding the Sinner
Now if you follow Jesus, He said, "I will make you become fishers of men." "Following Jesus" is discipleship; "fishing for men" is evangelism.
Now there are some people who try to separate evangelism from discipleship, and in one sense you can, but in another sense you cannot. I did my dissertation in the gospel of Luke on the subject "Evangelism for Discipleship in Luke's Gospel."
I spent three years of my life working on that dissertation and I came to this conclusion: The end of evangelism is discipleship. In other words, we are to be making disciples, not decisions. But the essence of discipleship is evangelism. Jesus said, "If you follow Me, I will make you become fishers of men."
Though it sounds trite, it is true. If you are not fishing, you are not following. For the mark of following is fishing. R. A. Torrey once said, "I would like to ask what right a man has to call himself a follower of Jesus Christ if he is not a soul-winner? There is absolutely no such thing as following Christ unless you make the purpose of Christ's life the purpose of your life."
I want you to understand that the church exists for the fish who have not yet been caught. It is our job to go out and to find those fish, and to catch those fish, and to bring them in to the kingdom of God.
In Mark chapter three we see in verses 13 and 14 how Jesus gathered the twelve disciples. Notice what it says: "And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted. And they came to Him. Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach."
First He called them and then He sent them. He called them in so that He might send them out. Do you know why? Fish do not come to the fishermen; fishermen have to go to the fish.
Paul took what Jesus said and applied it to logical rational thinking. Listen to how he put it:
"For whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?
And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written:
How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace,
Who bring glad tidings of good things!" (Rom. 10:13-15)
Now let me change the wording of Rom. 10 and apply it to fishing.
For whatever fish bites the bait of the gospel, shall be saved.
How can fish be caught without bait?
How can they bite the bait unless they see it?
How will they see it unless it is placed in the water?
How will the bait get into the water unless the fisherman goes to the lake?
Incidentally, do you know where a good fisherman fishes? Anywhere he can find fish! Major League Baseball Player, José Alou recalls how he was playing shortstop for the San Francisco Giants in the 1962 World Series. New York Yankee, Bobby Richardson, slammed a double and landed on second base. Playing close to second, José heard Bobby call out, "José!"
Well José thought to himself, "Now what would Richardson want with me in the middle of a World Series game? I knew he was a Christian. I couldn't believe he was trying to confuse me." Bobby called out again, "José!"
When José looked over there, Bobby Richardson said, "I want to ask you a question. Do you know the Lord Jesus Christ?" José, who had taken a stand for Jesus shortly before that World Series, said, "Yes I do."
Later José said he would never forget the sight of Bobby Richardson's face, and the sound of his voice, asking him right in the middle of a World Series game if he knew the Lord Jesus Christ. Now that is what I call a good fisherman.
III. Freeing the Spirit
Notice again Jesus says, "If you follow Me I will make you become fishers of men." Now how does Jesus make us become fishers of men? Very simply by the power of the Holy Spirit. Two of the greatest verses in all of the Bible concerning witnessing and bringing people to Jesus, are John 15:26-27:
"But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.
And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning."
Now notice we have not only been called to bear fruit, we have been called to bear witness.
A lawyer knows one fundamental truth about a witness. A witness must be someone with firsthand knowledge of the subject on which they are speaking. They don't need to be highly intelligent, widely read, or extremely eloquent. But they must have a personal firsthand account of their own experience.
That's all a witness is, someone who shares their story. Or, if you will, shares their testimony. That is, they testify of what they've seen, what they've heard, and what they know.
I heard about a man that was going door-to-door trying to share the Lord Jesus. He knocked on one door and a man came to that door. He said, "Sir, are you saved?" He said, "Yes I am." He said, "How do you know you are saved?" He said, "Because I was there when it happened."
You see, that man had a testimony. Anybody with a testimony can be a witness for Christ. In a court of law sometimes there is what is called the key witness. The key witness is the witness who can bring forth evidence that can turn the whole course of a case. His testimony can literally determine the decision of a judge and a jury.
Well, I've got some wonderful news for you. We have a key witness and it is the Holy Spirit of God. You see, left to ourselves we can never succeed in being an effective witness. We are not simply to witness for the Lord Jesus. We are to allow Him, through the Holy Spirit, to witness through us. When you will free the Spirit in your heart, you will testify of Jesus because He will testify of Jesus.
IV. Fishing for Souls
Jesus made it plain, "Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men." Now Jesus did not invent the term "fishers of men." It was a common description of philosophers and other teachers who would capture the minds of men through teaching and persuasion. That is, they would "bait the hook" with their teachings and "catch" disciples. I find it very revealing to notice that the first title Jesus ever gave his followers was not "bishops," nor "pastors," nor "elders," nor "apostles," but the first title He gave to his followers was "fishers of men."
Furthermore, He did not say, "Follow Me, and I will make you become speakers in tongues." He did not say, "Follow Me, and I will make you become healers of the sick." He did not say, "Follow Me, and I will make you become workers of miracles." He said, "Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men."
Now that word "become" tells me that there is room for preparation, and there is a place for training. You see, anybody can fish, but it takes time and preparation to become an expert fisherman. We could talk about fishing all we want to, but the truth of the matter is, you will never be a fisherman until you start fishing.
I want to share something with you. It is entitled "A Plea for Fishing."
Now it came to pass that a group existed who called themselves fishermen. And lo, there were many fish in the waters all around. In fact, the whole area was surrounded by streams and lakes filled with fish, and the fish were hungry.
Week after week, month after month, and year after year, these, who call themselves fishermen, met in meetings and talked about their call to fish, the abundance of fish, and how they might go about fishing. Year after year they carefully defined what fishing means, defending fishing as an occupation and declared that fishing is always to be a primary task of fishermen.
Continually, they searched for new and better methods of fishing, and for new and better definitions of fishing. Further, they said "the fishing industry exists by fishing as fire exists by burning." The loved slogans such as "Fishing is the task of every fisherman's club." They sponsored special meetings called "Fisherman's Campaigns" and "The Month for Fishermen to Fish." They sponsored costly nationwide and world-wide congresses to discuss fishing and to promote fishing, and to hear about all the ways of fishing such as the new fishing equipment, fish calls, and whether any new bait was discovered.
These fishermen built large beautiful buildings called "Fishing Head-quarters." The plea was that everyone should be a fisherman and every fisherman should fish. One thing they didn't do, however, they didn't fish.
In addition to meeting regularly, they organized a Board to send out fishermen to other places where there were many fish. All the fishermen seemed to agree that what is needed is a Board which could challenge fishermen to faithful in fishing. The Board was formed by those who had the great vision and courage to speak about fishing, to define fishing, and to promote the idea of fishing in far away streams and lakes where many other fish of different colors lived.
Also, the Board hired staffs and appointed committees and held many meetings to define fishing, to defend fishing, and to decide what new streams should be thought about. But the staff and committee members did not fish.
Large elaborate and expensive training centers were built whose original and primary purpose was to teach fishermen how to fish. Over the years courses were offered on the needs of fish, the nature of fish, where to find fish, the psychological reactions of fish, and how to approach and feed fish. Those who taught had doctorates in fishology, but the teachers did not fish. They only taught fishing. Year after year after tedious training many were graduated and were given fishing licenses. They were set to do full-time fishing, some to distant waters which were filled with fish.
Some spent much time in study and travel to learn the history of fishing and to see far away places where the founding fathers did great fishing in the centuries past. They lauded the faithful fishermen of years before who handed down the idea of fishing.
Further, the fishermen built large printing houses to publish fishing guides. Presses were kept busy day and night to produce materials solely devoted to fishing methods, equipment, and pro-grams to arrange and to encourage meetings to talk about fishing. A speakers bureau was also provided to schedule special speakers on the subject of fishing.
Many who felt the call to be fishermen responded. They were commissioned and sent to fish. But like the fishermen back home they never fished. Like the fishermen back home they engaged in all kinds of other occupations, they built power plants to pump water for fishing, tractors to plow new waterways. They made all kinds of equipment to travel here and there to look at fish hatcheries. Some also said that they wanted to be part of the fishing party, but they felt called to furnish fishing equipment. Others felt their job was to relate to the fish in a good way so the fish would know the difference between good and bad fishermen. Others felt that simply letting the fish know they were nice land-loving neighbors and how loving and kind they were, was enough.
After one stirring meeting on "The Necessity for Fishing," one young fellow left the meeting and went fishing. The next day he reported he had caught two outstanding fish. He was honored for his excellent catch and scheduled to visit all the big meetings possible to tell how he did it. So he quit his fishing in order to have time to tell about the experience to the other fishermen. He was also placed on the Fisherman's General Board as a person having considerable experience.
Now it's true that many of the fishermen sacrificed and put up with all kinds of difficulties. Some lived near the water and bore the smell of dead fish every day. They received the ridicule of some who made fun of their fishermen's clubs and the fact that they claimed to be fishermen yet never fished. They wondered about those who felt it was of little use to attend the weekly meetings to talk about fishing. After all, were they not following the master who said, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men?"
Imagine how hurt some were when one day a person suggested that those who don't catch fish were really not fishermen no matter how much they claimed to be. Yet it did sound correct. Is a person a fisherman if year after year he never catches a fish? Is one following if he isn't fishing?
Say what you will, but that is the truth. Jesus said simply, "Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men." Folks, are we going to fish or just cut bait?