When Fishermen Don’t Fish.
We all have a call. Jesus will make us Fishers of men.
Matthew 4:18 - 20
What would you have done if the incident we have just read about happened to you? If a stranger came into your place of work one day and said, “Stop what you’re doing, drop everything. Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” What would you do? Ignore him and hope he would go away? Would you call the police? Ask him to leave? WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF JESUS CALLED YOU TO FOLLOW HIM?
Peter and Andrew straightaway left their nets, and followed Him. Maybe you do not know it but if you are saved, then Jesus did call you to follow Him. Not only that but when you accepted Him as your Saviour you signified that you would follow Him. If you are not saved then right now Jesus is saying to your heart, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.”
Why did Christ come to this earth?
Luke 19:10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.
What does that have to do with me?
1Co 11:1 Be ye followers of me, even as I also [am] of Christ.
Christ is our example, if He came to seek the lost then that is what we should be doing. We are called to be “Fishers of men.” This is the main purpose of our existence. The call involves evangelism, discipleship, love, care, and concern.
How do we become fishers of men? If we follow Christ He will carve us into His type of people.
A wood carver one day was carving a piece of wood, having many beautiful pieces already finished around him. What beautiful work he could do. Someone asked him how he did such wonderful work. The woodcarver replied, “I just cut away everything that isn’t part of what I want it to be.”
But what if we are not concerned with fishing?
Have you ever seen a devoted fisherman?
They fish no matter what the weather is like.
They fish no matter if they’ve caught anything in the past hour, day or week. They continue fishing.
They fish no matter what people say to them or about them.
They fish regardless of what time of day it is.
They fish…..
We need to just trust God and fish. God’s word never returns void. Sometimes it seams that a sermon has not gone as well as you would have liked……..
From preacher’s mouth to hearers ear, God changed the bait….
What happens if we don’t fish? What if the Church is not concerned with fishing for men? What happens when fishermen don’t fish?
I. They Fight.
Mat 20:20 - 24
Disciples not concerned with fishing for men / winning the lost, here they are concerned with power, control, territory, and prestige.
Are Christians today fishing or fighting? We are called to seek the lost, to bring them to a saving knowledge of the Risen Saviour and what Christ has done. The church today seems to spend so much time fussing, fighting, bickering while a lost and dying world slips into hell before our very eyes.
Outside world sees how we act.
When fishermen don’t fish they not only fight but they flee.
II. Flee
(Mat 26:69-75) here we see Peter deny Jesus 3 times. Peter ran when the times got hard, when there was persecution. Peter lost sight of his main purpose and he ran. How easy it is for us to stand here and criticise Peter, but we do exactly the same thing today. When we lose sight of our call – to fish for men – we seem to run from every little problem. We can’t stand adversity because we’ve lost sight of our purpose.
BUT….if we remember our purpose – to be fishers of men – and we concentrate on it, we look at life’s challenges a little differently.
The Wyoming government had a problem with timber wolves. They offered $5,000 bounty on each wolf captured alive. That turned two men, Sam and Jed, into bounty hunters! Day and night they scoured the mountains looking for wolves. Exhausted one night they fell asleep dreaming about the fortune they would make capturing wolves. Suddenly Sam woke up to find that they were surrounded by 50 wolves with flaming eyes and bared teeth. Sam screamed, “JED, WAKE UP WE’RE RICH!!!!!!”
If we concentrate on fishing, we’ll handle problems differently and we won’t flee when times get hard. God will turn those problems around. He will make them opportunities. Opportunities to:
• Strengthen your faith
• Straighten your walk
• Study the word
• Improve your witnessing
• Improve your prayer life
• Improve your casting?
Satan will use anything to discourage you
There was an old Scots minister who felt dejected; he had just faced the harsh criticism of one of his deacons. "Sir, there is something radically wrong with your ministry. Only one person has been saved this year, and he is only a boy."
The words stung him, the preacher felt heartbroken that so few had responded to the Gospel; yet still he trusted God for the results.
Then one day the young boy asked him, "Do you think if I worked hard for my education that I could ever become a preacher?" "God bless you, my boy," replied the old man with tears in his eyes. "Yes, I think you will become a preacher!"
It was years later that an elderly missionary came back to London from Africa. He had pushed back the boundaries of geographical knowledge and brought savage chiefs under the influence of the Gospel of Peace, given tribes the Bible in their own tongues; but most of all, he had followed the Lord with all of his heart.
Robert Moffat-"only a boy," won to Christ by a tired old man-had become a soul winner!
On one visit to England, Robert told of the need of Africa. Among those who heard him that day was a young Scottish medical student who had given his life to God for missionary service. Robert Moffat’s words pierced his heart: "There is a vast plain to the north where I have sometimes seen, in the morning sun, the smoke of a thousand villages where no missionary has ever been."
Filled with the vision of what God wanted him to do, the student asked Mr. Moffat, "Would I do for Africa?" The direction of David Livingstone’s life had been changed.
Who can tell what impact was made through the ministry of the first old Scotsman? "Only a boy" it seemed-yet far-off generations and tribes knew the effect of it!
You never know what God is doing and can do through your witness. Do not be discouraged. But trust and pray on!
When fishermen don’t fish, they Fight, Flee and…..
III. Faint
Rev 3:1 - 6
The Lord told the Church at Sardis that although they had a reputation for being spiritually alive, they were dead. He told them to wake up. The call to every believer is to be vigilant toward the Lord rather than lax and indifferent. Has the fire gone out in our hearts? Have we fainted or fallen asleep, have we stopped fishing? The Lord pleads with us, if the fire has gone out in our hearts we need to stir the embers into flame again.
Time is running out, we need to wake up and start fishing for men.
Now Is All the Time We Have how can we best use it for the Lord?
1. Remember that this may be the day the Lord returns. The thought of Psalm 118:24 (This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it) surely includes our rejoicing in the return of the Lord. If I really believe Christ may return today, I’ll live differently than I ever have, seeking to affect others for Christ. Nobody knows when He will return, so we ought to live each day as though He will come back today.
2. Use time wisely; make the most of every opportunity (Col 4:5 Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time). Don’t make excuses-be involved in the lives of those outside the Lord. Pray daily that God will keep alive in your heart a picture of those who are outside Christ as being lost. Ask God to revive your loving concern that all men hear the Gospel and learn of Christ’s love for them and His saving power, and to help you be involved in every effort to teach them.
3. Treat everyone as if you’ll never see them again (Act 10:37-38 That word, I say, ye know, which was published throughout all Judaea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached 38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him). We cannot take for granted that we’ll have time in the future, if we remind ourselves that we are not guaranteed tomorrow then surely our treatment of each other will greatly improve. Use the time NOW to share a little about Jesus, for you may not have another opportunity.
If we truly believe NOW is all the time we have, what a difference that will make in our lives. It’s great to be part of the family of God.
When fishermen don’t fish not only do they fight, flee and faint the also….
IV. Forget
Joh 21:1 - 3
After all Jesus had taught Peter! After all the miracles he had seen, he seems to have forgotten everything and says, “I’m going fishing” The fisher of men had become just a fisherman again.
If we don’t fish we have the tendency to forget and slip back into the old lifestyle. We are sinners by nature and you know what – Satan knows that! He can make us think that it’s OK to miss church once in a while, that it’s OK not to Pray or read your Bible everyday, that it’s OK not to witness to people. Once Satan gets you on this path it is easy to forget.
When fishermen don’t fish they forget the things of God. Their wants become more important than God’s will. If we stop fishing it is so easy to forget what God has done for us and what he’s called us to do for Him.
However Peter regained his focus on what was important, he did not end up a failed fisherman but he decided he would rather Fish for men than Fight, Flee, Faint or Forget. We see in Acts 2:14-41 he preached an awesome message and about 3,000 people were saved and baptised as a result.
If we spend our energy Fishing rather than Fighting, Fleeing, Fainting or Forgetting, God will use us. If we want revival to come to this village, to come to this Valley, to come to this country it has to start in us first and then we must be faithful and become fishers of men.
Conclusion
Forgive Me God, I Had No Time, The year slipped by and time was spent,
And all the good things that I meant, To do were left undone because...
I had no time to stop and pause; But rushed about, went here and there,
Did this and that, was everywhere. I had no time to meditate
On things worthwhile. No time to wait, Upon the Lord and hear Him say,
"Well done, My child, you have shown the way." And so I wonder, after all,
When life is o’er and I am called, To meet my Saviour in the sky,
Where saints live on and never die, If I can find one soul I have won
To Christ by some small deed I have done. Or will I hang my head and whine,
"Forgive me, God, I had no time"?
How can we do what it is our duty to do, how can we fish for men?
1. Ask God to give you a burden for a handful of people who need to be saved, and begin praying for them
2. Live a consistent Christian life, letting others see the hope within you. Let others see the light of Christ shining from your life. Let others see the change He has made in your life.
3. Seize opportunities for inviting people to church. If you invite enough people, some will come, if enough come, some will be saved.
4. Fish no matter what the weather, no matter what the results, no matter what people say, keep fishing and God will use you, you may not see the results but keep on fishing.
Jesus is saying Follow me so that He can fashion you, chipping away everything that is not needed to develop you into a fisher of men.
