Are You A Fan Or A Follower?

• He saw in them in a trade that He liked and could use.

• At least four of the twelve disciples were commercial fishermen.

• That means one-third of His disciples were fishermen.

(1) Peter and Andrew were fishermen.

Look at Matthew 4:18-19, we read, "And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."

(2)James and John were fishermen.

Look at Mark 1:19-20, we read, "And when he had gone a little farther thence, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the ship mending their nets. And straightway he called them: and they left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants, and went after him."

These four men knew a great deal about fishing.

But I have discovered that fishermen know about more than just fishing!

Illus: Did you know that you can put two fishermen in a boat and they can solve all the world’s problems of the world in one fishing trip?

Listen, many times what they say in that fishing boat makes more sense than the politicians in Washington, D.C.!

Illus: They remind me of the old Indian chief that sat in his tent on the reservation, smoking his ceremonial pipe, eyeing the two U.S. government officials sent to interview him.

• They said, "Chief Two Eagles, you have observed the white man for many years. You have seen all his progress and all his problems."

• The chief nodded.

• The official continued, "What do you think of all the white man has done?"

• The chief stared at the officials for more than a minute, and then calmly replied. "When white man found this land, Indians were running it. No taxes. No debt. Plenty buffalo, plenty beaver. Women did most of the work. Medicine man free. Indian men hunted and fished all the time."

• The chief paused, then added, "Only white man dumb enough to think he could improve system like that!"

Remember, the Lord loves fishermen.

Many folks like to fish, but fishing like many other things has become a very expensive hobby to participate in these days.

Illus: Two rednecks went on a fishing trip.

• They rented all the equipment: the reels, the rods, the wading boots, the rowboat, the car, and even a cabin in the woods. They spent a fortune!

• The first day they went fishing, but they didn't catch anything.

• The same thing happened on the second day.

• The same thing happened on the third day.

• It goes on like this until finally, on the last day of their vacation, one of the men catches a fish.

• As they're driving home they're really depressed. One redneck turns to the other redneck and says, "Do you realize that this one lousy fish we caught cost us fifteen hundred dollars?"

• The other guy says, "Wow! It's a good thing we didn't catch any more!"

Notice, when Andrew began to become a fisher of men, the Bible makes it clear that he wanted to FIRST FIND HIS BROTHER PETER and to tell him about what he had found.

This is the way God intended for the church to grow.

Illus: The Institute for American Church Growth asked 10,000 people about their decision to join a particular church. What led them to their church?

The answers were:

• Special need - 2 percent

• Walk in - 3 percent

• Pastor - 6 percent

• Visitation - 1 percent

• Sunday school - 5 percent

• Evangelistic crusade - 5 percent

• Programs - 3 percent

• (Listen to this) FRIEND or RELATIVE - 79 PERCENT (Wayne Zunkel, Leadership, Vol. 5, no. 3)

Soul winning should be a top priority for all Christians to be involved in each day.

• Two dedicated fishermen can meet each other and one will say to the other one, HAVE YOU CAUGHT ANY FISH LATELY?

• Wouldn’t it be nice if two Christians met each other and one say to the other, HAVE YOU WON ANYONE TO THE LORD LATELY?

Yes, Soul winning should be a top priority for all Christians to be involved in each day.

But sad to say it is not a TOP PRIORITY in many churches.

The New Testament church turns the world upside down with the spreading of the gospel.

WHY AREN’T SOULS BEING SAVED TODAY IN SOME CHURCHES?

Let me illustrate…

Illus: In football part of the game they have a huddle. The goal of the huddle is to give you thirty seconds to call the play…. There may be sixty thousand people watching them huddle.