When the Lord Jesus called us to be fishers of men, I'm pretty sure He didn't intend for us to fish in an aquarium or a fish bowl! LOL as facetious as that may sound, it seems that our actions indicate that we must be thinking along those lines. He said launch out into the deep! So what does that mean actually? To launch out into the deep? I truly believe it means to move out of your comfort zone. To get out of your lil' aquarium and go out into the deep water. Out into the highways and the hedges and compel them to come into the house of God.
You know some folks just are not going to just show up at church and say hey, I'm a sinner and I have come today to get right with God! Yes, it does happen. I have seen it happen but, more often than not, people come to church after some fisherman or fisherwoman has gone out into the deep and quietly methodically with great care gone fishing.
Now, let's talk about fishing for a minute. In the natural when you go fishing you need to carry the right equipment, i.e. the right bait for the fish that you are trying to catch, a fishing rod and reel, or a cane pole, as my Aunt Sis used to fish with. That woman could catch more fish with a cane pole, than any man could with an expensive rod & reel. I digress...anyways after you get the right bait and the right pole or rod and reel, you then find you a spot where you can actually catch some fish.
Now, you don't go out there screaming and yelling and striking the water! You quietly bait your hook, and cast your line into the water and you wait and wait and wait, and then ultimately you will catch a fish. I can remember when I was a little girl my dad and I would fish almost every day during the Summer months. We lived in Alabama and we fished in the beautiful Tennessee River. We fished for Catfish, so we used dough balls. I was a skilled dough ball maker....or so dad told me, and I would take some oatmeal in my hand and I would walk down to the edge of the water and very carefully and slowly open my hand just a bit to let in a tiny bit of water to form this dough ball and I would get it just right and then I would push the fishing hook down in it and then cast it out into the water.
I would catch at least 2 or 3 fish every time we went fishing. I loved it so much!! Little did I know then that one day I would be a fisher of men. That I would preach, and teach the Word and lead people to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Oh what a wonderful experience to get to fish with my dad and how many things I learned about fishing in the natural that now help me with the spiritual fishing. To become a skilled fisherperson you have to know which bait to use for which fish. I know one time my dad and I were fishing with my Aunt Sis in Kentucky and of course she took 3 or 4 cane poles with her and I thought what in the world is she going to do with those flimsy things? Oh but what I didn't know was that Aunt Sis was a skilled fisherwoman and she caught one of the biggest fish that I have ever seen caught! It was one of those giant Buffalo Carps! That thing fought like a junk yard dog but, she pulled it in all the same! She knew what she was doing and in spite of the fact that it looked impossible to do what she did, she did it anyway because she was skilled.
Sometimes, we want to beat folks in the head with the Jesus hammer or beat them with the Bible and all they get is a holy concussion! The love of God and the goodness of God is what brings men, women and children to Christ. We must learn what bait to use, it is not the hell fire and brimstone that brings folks to Christ it is the love of God. Yes, at times those sermons are needed and God will let you know if it is a necessary thing but, more often than not people just need to know that God is on the throne and in complete control, He loves them with an everlasting love, so much in fact that He gave His only begotten son Jesus to die on a cross for their sins so that they wouldn't have to experience the hell fire and brimstone but inherit eternal life and live with Him in Heaven.
People need to hear that God has a plan for their life. A specific custom designed plan that only they can walk out in this Earth realm. Nothing is more empowering to a person than to learn that God is in control, God loves you and God has a plan. These are the tools, the baits that work when fishing for the souls of men. I am grateful that when I was a little girl I heard a message from a Pastor that loved me and he preached about Jesus dying on a cross for my sins that He was buried and on the 3rd day rose again. I am grateful that he went fishing that day & caught a little 7 year old fish that has now become a fisherwoman for the kingdom of God.
Let's get out of the fish bowl and the aquarium and launch out into the deep water today and catch some fish. Sometimes that deep water is a bit dark and scary but oh what a wonderful thing it is to catch some fish!
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