Gerry van der Wende: Gone Fishing!

Gone Fishing!
January 19, 2014
Luke 5:1-11

INTRODUCTION

A pastor visits Safeway and goes to the fish counter. He sees five big trout, and makes a request of the helpful person behind the counter
"Could you please get me those five trout, and then throw them to me, one at a time?"
The assistant throws them to the pastor, who catches four of the slippery monsters, but one slithered out of his grasp and onto the floor.
The pastor explains, "Now I can say I caught five large fish, but the biggest one got away!"
How many here are fishermen?
If you go fishing there are some things I have learned
You need to sneak up on the fish, don't just stand on the shore, obvious
You need to choose the right bait for the situation and the fish you are targeting
You need to go where the fish are - you can use the finest fishing rig, most attractive bait, and copy the methods used by the greatest fishermen in the world, but if there are no fish there, you won't catch a thing!
There are many lessons to be learned from fishing
Our son Matt likes to fish
Fishing is his life!
Work is merely something you have to do in order to be paid, so that you can go out and fish!
Today we are going to talk about fishing!

READING

CENTRALITY OF FISHING

These disciples were to become fishers of men
This is the main point of the story
They were fishers of fish, but their focus is now changed, fishing for men is now their assignment
Matt 13:47
The kingdom is here described as a net which draws in all kinds of fish, good and bad
The fish represent people, the good ones are those who have chosen for a relationship with Jesus (the righteous), and the bad ones are those who reject this relationship
The bad ones go to a place of fiery torment, in other words, hell
We have been called to become fishers of men, so that people will be drawn into relationship with Jesus, and to give them the chance to make the most important choice of their lives
How do you fish for people?

GAINING THEIR TRUST

If you want to catch a fish, you must first gain its trust
It must feel at home, unthreatened, if it is to be drawn to the little fly you are offering
It is the same with people
People don't necessarily take kindly to someone coming up to their front door and being asked if they know Jesus
What it takes, is a building of relationship
Last November we participated in the "My Hope For America" outreach
Dianne and I went door to door inviting people to come watch the video with us
But it did not work. The reason was, we did not yet have relationship with these people
If we desire to have credibility with people, so that we can offer them the best choice they can ever make, we need to first build relationship with them
Matt 5:14
We are to be lights in this world
That light will only be seen in the way we relate to them, and among ourselves
They have to see us!

LOVING PEOPLE

John 13:35
There is a lot of love in this room!
This church is a family, and it is obvious that we love and care for each other
But we cannot be loving in church, and then on Monday be unloving to those around us
Love comes from Jesus dwelling in us
Gal 5:22
Love is the main fruit of the Spirit
This is because God is love
If Jesus dwells in us, love will become the central part of our character
That love is not switched on or off depending on who we are with
Love is constant, because that is our new identity
This love will be seen and is a marker for people who will recognize Jesus in us
When we love people, we will seek to help fill their needs
In the early hours of Friday I went down to the river and saw the homeless camp, and it broke my heart
I want to help these people as much as I am able
This is one reason why we support Crossroads Ministries as we do
We love people by being trustworthy friends
There are plenty of friends who end up dropping us when the going gets rough
But we are to be true friends, not only to people who we know at church, but also in the community
Prov 18:24
The world is hungry for love

READY TO ANSWER

Peter encourages us to always be ready to give an answer about the hope that is in us
1 Pet 3:15
We have hope
That hope is that there is more to this life than what we experience today
We have a hope and a future, which culminates in eternal life
That life only comes through Jesus
There is no other way
So if someone asks us about why we are so positive in the face of the struggles of day to day living, we can explain that it comes through our relationship with Jesus
Think about how to respond to them
We don't need to give them chapter and verse every time, they are more interested in what makes us tick
How would you present it?
Our personal testimony is our most effective evangelism tool

INVITE THEM ALONG

John 1:43-51
Philip calls Nathanael and invites him to come and see, to come and meet Jesus
He invites him to come
There is something powerful about the word invitation
People like to be invited
Verse 35-42
Andrew finds Simon Peter and invites him to come see Jesus
Once again there is the invitation, he brings his brother to meet Jesus
The key is invitation
Don't push or badger people
Don't present hurdles that they have to cross before they would be allowed to come to church
For example, if someone is a smoker, that should not be made into a barrier they have to cross, before they are allowed to come to church
It is in church, and a developing relationship with Jesus, that they will receive the power to conquer sin
In the same way, someone with a homosexual orientation should be welcomed to church, and loved
It is in their relationship with Jesus that they can find healing for the hurt and pain that so often led them into this lifestyle
Love people into the kingdom

CONCLUSION

Remember that we have not been called for ourselves
This morning Glenn Burris, our Foursquare president who will be visiting here in April, this morning posted on Facebook - "Not for ourselves alone, are we born"
We have been called, not for ourselves, but to be sharers of the love of God, in a hurting community
We have been called to be fishers of men

Gerry van der Wende