"Fishermen Are…” Series

HOOKED

week 5

“Fishermen Are…”

Pastor Tim Porter

Text: Luke 5:6

<video of fishing competition>

Introduction:

There’s nothing like competition, is there? We live in a very competitive culture. I love competition.

Football is right around the corner and around here it's Clemson or Carolina, Falcons or the Panthers, Pickens or Easley, Dale jr. or Jimmy Johnson we love to compete! Competition is a good thing, whether you’re playing cards, whether you’re playing tennis, whether you’re playing golf, we love competition.

We’re competitive in the business world. We’re competitive in the world of our physiques. We’re competitive on social media. It seems that everybody is competitive.Have you ever thought about why? I’m a why guy. Why are we competitive?

I believe this drive for competition has been given to us by God. I really believe that. It’s great to be competitive, but I would say based on Scripture, based on studying God’s word, the Bible teaches us not to waste our competitive edge. So let's Be competitive. Be competitive but don’t waste your competition.

Habakkuk 1:15 (ESV) 15 He brings all of them up with a hook; he drags them out with his net; he gathers them in his dragnet; so he rejoices and is glad.

*STAND * READ * PRAY*

Today I’m going to talk to you about entering a serious competition. That competition is simply this.

Competing for the souls of people. Some of you here have been here for this series, called Hooked.

We have been learning that the hook is the gospel. The gospel is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.

We discovered the bait, the lure, is Jesus. We discovered that life is a big honkin fishing trip. Life is a big fishing trip. The Bible says that God has caught you and me. The Bible says that God fishes for you and me.

Just for a second think about that person, that fished, for you. Because those of us here who have been caught by the love of God and exp. the grace of God with conviction, we were souls just swimming around. Those of us who have been caught, who have been hooked, someone loved you enough to cast to you. Who was that person, just for a second, put a name with a face behind the pole. Who is that person? Maybe it was a Sunday school teacher, maybe it was a parent. Maybe it was a youth leader. Maybe it was a children’s pastor. Maybe it was someone you met in college, or someone you met in jail or prison. Who was that person that led you to Jesus?

For me it was my Dad and I’m thankful for that today as I think about it. Well, Dad obviously loves me, but he loved me enough to fish for me.

Jesus is the master caster. So whenever you have Jesus doing something that’s supernatural, you have Satan doing something in the natural. Satan is not the master caster, he’s the caster of disaster. [ ILL.] he does not want you and me to get hooked to heaven. He wants to hook us to Hell, and you know a lot of people, who have not been hooked by Jesus. You know a lot of people who have not received the gospel. They’re just souls aimlessly swimming around.

Well, for us to be competitive, I want you to understand what competition is all about, I’m going to challenge you, because the Bible challenges us, to get involved in the ultimate fishing contest. I want us to jump in (pun intended) and face the ultimate competitor. I want us to face the devil himself.

On one hand he’s trying to move people from life to death. Yet we’re trying to move people by God’s power , Grace and conviction from death to life. That’s the ultimate competition. So don’t waste your competitive edge, don’t waste that drive to compete because I believe God has given it to us to really, compete. And again.I’m all about competitiveness but The main competition, needs to be against the devil.

Some of you are like, “Wait a minute, wait a minute, Tim. Are you saying you believe in the devil?” Well duh, yes. It doesn’t take someone with a doctorate in human behavior or biology to understand there is a dark, powerful, sinister force wreaking havoc in our world today.

<Use the Ill. of the lures> How do you explain child pornography? millions killed in wars? racism? Violence, pride, lust, envy? How do you explain our government, the corrupt calling the corrupt, corrupt. The FBI, the IRS, everywhere you turn corruption, corruption. I’ve never seen as much lying as there is in the world today. How do you explain that? How do you explain that? A damaged chromosome? Your diapers put on too tight? Your nursery painted the wrong color? Your mom didn’t sing enough nursery rhymes to you? No it's the devil!