Fishers Of Men Series

Sermon for 4/19/98

Fishers of Men

Introduction:

A. Clarence Darrow, the great criminal lawyer of another day, had among his friends a young minister. This seems strange, because, as you remember, Darrow was usually thought of as an atheist, infidel,

agnostic or what have you.

They were talking one day and Mr. Darrow became reminiscent. He

talked of his career and some of the famous trials in which he had

been the lawyer for the defense. He said, "This has been an exciting

life." He made at least a comfortable fortune and he guessed he might

be regarded as somewhat of a success.

Then Mr. Darrow asked, "Would you like to know my favorite Bible

verse?" His friend said, "Indeed I would." Mr. Darrow said, "You

will find it in Luke 5:5. ’We’ve toiled all the

night and have taken nothing.’" He added, "In spite of my success

that verse seems to sum up the way I feel about life."

No matter what one does in life, no matter what position he may

obtain, no matter what he might come to own...if he leaves God out,

the time will come when life itself will rise up and mock him with the

word -- nothing -- nothing!

B. So what should we do? What in this life is a worthy pursuit? Is it all just a chasing after the wind, a futile world in the midst of futile pursuits? Everything is meaningless. The things we do today will be forgotten tomorrow and the things we build eventually will crumble to dust. All we are just another brick in the wall- Pink Floyd.

WBTU:

A. Oh, let’s just forget it all and go fishing. I’d rather be fishing. Let’s just leave our troubles and disturbing thoughts behind and go fishing.

B. My grandpa and fishing. He taught me how to fish.

C. On my barber’s wall, there is a sign that says. The Lord created the world with 6X more water than land. Therefore, anybody can see that the Good Lord intended man to fish more than he works.

D. I see these outdoorsman on TV fishing and they just don’t do it quite right.

E. Get a bunch of monkeys and clean the fish.

F. Fishing many times can be frustrating, and I would think that if we kept on fishing, our whole lives would be wasted.

G. Wait a minute, I thought you said that fishing was the answer. Forget it all you said. I did. That is not the kind of fishing I’m talking about. I’m talking about being fishers of men. This is a worthwhile pursuit.

H. Read Mark 1:15-20

Thesis: We need to fish for men. How do we do that?

For instances:

I. Grab Your Gear.

1. Fishing for Fish.

A. We must go out and get the equipment to fish with.

B. I don’t know much about salt-water fishing or peer fishing. I know fresh water fishing where you use live bait and keep whatever if worth keeping.

C. In Jesus day they used nets mostly. In Indiana this is illegal. We need a fishing pole. WE need to put a rod and reel on this pole. Oh, we can fish with just a cane pole, but it is so much more fun to cast out.

D. We need some fishing line. We need some weights on the line. We need a bobber. WE need a hook. WE need a tackle box. We need something to keep the fish on or in when we catch them. Oh, and we also need bait.

E. If we are going to fish from a boat, we need a boat. We need some anchors on the boat. If it is a big lake or river, we need a motor or at least some paddles. We need a boat license and some life preservers.

2. Fishing for men.

A. In fishing for men, we also need to grab our gear.

B. We need to pick up the pole. We need to have the courage and faith to know that Jesus is the answer for many people’s problems. When the people begin to buck us much like fish, this pole, this confidence, will get us through.

C. We need to have a rod and reel. This will give us the ability to go and tell the message wherever it is possible. Some people may be only to have a cane pole but it is so much easier to have the ability to fish all over.

D. We need to have some fishing line; this is prayer and the Word of God, the Bible. Without a thorough knowledge of the Bible and a strong prayer life, our line will snap under the strain of the fish.

E. We also need a bobber, which is a sense of when people are ready to bite. We need to listen to others and communicate the message as we know best and then pay attention to them to see if they are ready to make a decision. This takes common sense and also prayer.