Let’s Go Fishing!

I love to fish!  My mind is full of memories of fishing when I was child with my Dad, then as a teenager going and checking out all the local farm ponds in East Knox County.  Later as an adult taking one of my children or grandchildren fishing and watching them catch their first fish.  But do you and I remember that Jesus told us to be ‘fishers of men’ (Matthew 4:19)? 

There are a lot of similarities to fishing for fish and fishing for men.  The principles that make someone a good fisherman and a great soulwinner are the same.  Let me recount four things I have learned in fishing that are true to fishing for men.

1.      To catch fish you have to go fishing.

It’s simple, but you’re not going to catch a mess of fish sitting in your living room discussing the joy of catching fish.  You can talk about it all you want, but you will not catch fish just talking about them.  We can dream about going and catching the biggest bass in the county, but he’s not going to come to your house.  Let’s face it, we are not going to catch fish staying in our homes or churches and hanging an ‘Everyone Welcome’ sign over the door.  We have to go fishing to catch fish.

2.      We need to go where the fish are.

Last time I checked fish live in lakes and streams.  You have to go there to catch them.  Putting it in modern day terms we have to go fishing at work, at school, at Walmart, in our neighborhoods, and as the great commission alludes to ‘as you go’.  That is wherever we go we are to fish for men.  As a pastor said in a sermon I heard, “they’re everywhere, go catch you some”!

3.      We need to use the right bait if you want to catch fish.

Fish don’t bite what they’re not hungry for.  You’ve got to find what they are looking for and put that bait in front of them.  Mankind is looking for hope, peace, purpose, and joy.  Those things are only found in Christ.  The world may not realize it, but they are looking and hungry for Jesus!  Sadly we tend to try to use the world’s marketing schemes to catch men.  We want to talk with them about our programs, music, worship, and what great fellowships we have.  Those things are well and good, but only the gospel is what catches men.  You may draw a crowd with those things, but only Jesus will change their lives.

4.      We will need persistence to catch fish.

I’ve fished many a day and caught very few, if any fish.  Sadly, many people give up after the first trip and never fish again because they didn’t catch anything.  I know if I keep going I will catch some fish and what a joy it is to catch some really good ones!  But you know, that’s not really my main motivation to catch fish for Jesus.  My main reason is that He told me to go fishing for Him!  And if I do, I know I will catch some.  And they’re not going to be just some fish, they are going to be men, women, and children who will get to spend eternity with Him and us.  You see, when you catch a fish for Jesus you have made a friend for eternity!  It doesn’t get any better than that!

Things I’ve learned in the Past Six Months

As many of you are well aware of in October of 2011 I accepted the pastorate of Second Baptist Church in Russellville, Kentucky.  In August of 2014 I resigned that position and moved back to Morristown, Tennessee.  The last six months have been a whirlwind and in retrospect I have tried to analyze each step of the journey.  One of the main questions that I have continued to ask myself was this, “God, what was the lesson or lessons that I need or needed to learn”?

I have not and do not question the conviction that God called me to Kentucky.  I do not doubt that He also called me to leave when I did.  So, I ask myself, what was the purpose of my spending three years in Russellville, Kentucky?  I’m not sure I can fully answer that question as I am very well aware of the fact that I am not God and much of His will may not be revealed until we reach Heaven.  But there are some things that have become clear to me in these last few months.  Let me share them with you and I pray that they will also encourage you in your walk with our Lord.

1.     People are people.

I would be the first to tell you that Kentuckians and Tennesseans are vastly different birds.  There is no debating that, but for all their unique characteristics they are still people.  Their preferences change in everything from who their favorite sports team is to what music they like.  From styles of worship to the way a funeral service is to be conducted, but in all of that they have more in common than they do differences.

I have learned that wherever you go people still want to be loved, respected, encouraged, and appreciated.  Friends are friends wherever you go.  I have many friends in Kentucky and I came back to many friends in East Tennessee.  I have made an assortment of new friends at my new church and gotten to know better others here that I only knew from a distance.

I’m glad people are still people.  Friends are worth more than their weight in gold when your life is in transition.  I thank God for each one of you!

2.     God is still God.

Wherever you and I go Jesus is still the same and I am forever grateful for that.  He still loves people.  Don’t ever forget that.  None of us are perfect, but that doesn’t stop Him from loving us and it didn’t stop Him in spite of our faults from going to the Cross for us.  His desire to save people doesn’t change when you cross a state line or go to another country.  As the children’s song says, ‘Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight’.

I remind myself daily that God still has the final say in the affairs of men.  Some folks have great intentions and will do anything they can to help you while others, well, let’s just say run on a different track, but God is still in charge.  I’m just thankful that He didn’t put me in control.  What a mess that would be!

3.     I can still trust Him.

Being called to Kentucky, being called back to Tennessee, not knowing your future can leave you with a sense of isolation and loneliness.  Through it all though, He quietly continued to speak to my heart, “trust me”.  When you don’t have a job or a church, when you don’t know how long your money will last, when you are not sure where you’re supposed to live, His word was “trust me”. 

My dear friend Dean Haun has told me that his life verse is Proverbs 3:5-6 (NKJV) Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; ⁶  In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.   

I may not have thought of it as this verse states it, but it was in a nutshell what my Lord kept reminding me.   Trust me, I got this.

You may be going through something that may seem like a dark tunnel, but let me reassure you.  He’s still in charge.  Trust Him.  Do I have it all together?  Of course not, but that’s the essence of the Christian life.  Trust Him.