Sermon Series: “Say What? – A look at the Words of Jesus”

Today’s sermon: “Fishing With Jesus”

After Jesus got baptized He went by himself into the desert to prepare Himself for ministry. 

-         He did not eat for 40 days

-         He was tempted by Satan

At the end of that time…

Matthew 4:12-22. 

He begins His ministry……………He calls his disciples.

What did Jesus say?

(18-19) As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. "Come, follow me," Jesus said…

What did they do?

(20)At once they left their nets and followed him.

(21-22) Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

What can we learn from this?

Those who choose to follow Jesus have to make the choice to leave everything behind.

Job, family, stuff.  None of it is more important than following Jesus

Let me tell you a few reasons why:

Matthew 6:19-20.

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.

The early church got it.  They gave up all the comforts of this world so they could take care of each other and reach the lost for Jesus

Acts 2:42-47.

They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Jesus lays it out in plain English.  “It is not an easy thing to follow Me”

Luke 9:57-62.

As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go."   Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."  He said to another man, "Follow me."  But the man replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father."  Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God."  Still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good bye to my family."  Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."

Are you willing to live in a cardboard box?

Are you willing to give away everything that is precious to you? 

Will you go to extremes (as our culture would see it so you can follow Jesus?

(Fisherman in the days of Jesus made good money compared to others.  Also, when they suddenly left behind their father and the family business; such abandonment could easily bring them dishonor in the community.)

          “But following Jesus would mean…”

There is a fake Gospel out there that says we can believe in JKkesus and not follow Him.

The Gospel I read says if we believe in Jesus, we will follow Him.  You can’t have one without the other.

What else did Jesus Say?

Matthew 4:19. 

"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men."

Jesus calls at least seven fishermen (notorious for their roughness) to be amongst his disciples. Fisherman used mostly used nets but sometimes used a baited hook on a pole and maybe even a spear. When they wanted to catch fish, there was a certain technique to catching the fish.  They don’t just fish with whatever and fish wherever or whenever.  They were skilled in the trade of catching fish.

What does that mean?  (Fishers of men?)

History Lesson:

We know what it takes to catch a fish, but how do you be a fisher of men?  What did Jesus mean?

Jesus wanted their focus in life to be reaching people with the Good News about Jesus.

A fisherman has certain skills he must use to catch a fish.

When fishing for a certain kind of fish you use techniques for that specific type of fish. 

You can try to fish for more than one type of fish at a time but you will be much more successful if you target one kind of fish.

Jesus said, “follows me”

And, “if you follow me…”

“Your new focus on life will be to reach people for Jesus….you will begin fishing for men.”

(When you gave your life to Jesus, did your focus in life change?)

What can we learn from this?

1. Before we can be fishers of men, we have to get out of the boat.

Matthew 4:19. 

"Come, follow me…”

-         We must totally surrender all of our lives to Jesus.  The disciples did this when they got out of their boat, they walked away from their jobs and began following Jesus

o       He is all we think about.

§        What He tells us to do is all we really desire to do

·        (Life is such a waste when we fill it with meaningful things and events!)

-         Are you totally invested in reaching people?

-         Or are you look warm?

2. Before we can purchase the fishing equipment, we have to learn how to be a fisherman.

Matthew 28:19-20. tells us to make disciples.

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

When we are disciples, we study Jesus and He shows us how to effectively reach people for Jesus.

If we are not walking right with Jesus, God will not work through us.  The outsides may look all put together but the insides are rotting away……this make us ineffective.

Everything God wants to do starts with a quality and close relationship with Jesus.

3. Before we catch any fish, we have to know what we are fishing for.

What kind of fish are we trying to catch at Westwood Baptist Church?

Who did God call us to reach out to?

Acts 13:47. 

For this is what the Lord has commanded us: " 'I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.

Our desire is to present the message of Jesus to non-religious people who have found themselves alienated from organized church and religion.

What does Mr. or Mrs. Westwood look like?

This person would be someone who is curious about the meaning and depth of who Jesus is, but who would normally not feel comfortable in a traditional setting.

-         Blue collar workers (white collars that bust their hump too)

-         Middle to lower class income levels

-         Those who may still be struggling with addictions and lifestyles that are not popular in the church

-         People like you and me

What we are not fishing for is those looking for a structured religious experience, those looking for a place that makes them feel like they are in church.

We are not trying to catch other Christians.

We are more of a ministry than a church that has a ministry.

4. If we are going to catch any fish, we’ve Got to use the right equipment.

Now that we know what kind of fish we are trying to catch, we need to use the lures that work for that specific kind of fish.

What works for Mr. or Mrs. Westwood?

          Tell them what works

What brought in the new people we currently have?

What will bring in your Mr. or Mrs. Westwood?

Certain techniques work better than others.

Check out some of my past sermons to see the scriptures that teach us how to be a witness.

5. If we want to be successful fisherman, we’ve Got to be obedient to Jesus and trust Him for the results.

Trust and obey for there is no other way

Luke 5:1-11

1One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God, 2he saw at the water's edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. 3He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.  4When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch."  5Simon answered, "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets." 6When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. 7So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. 8When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!" 9For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, 10and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon's partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, "Don't be afraid; from now on you will catch men." 11So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.

This is the whole process!!

A man recognizes who Jesus is, repents of his sin, and then leaves everything to follow Him!

“casting nets theme”

We have to do our part but we must do our part in complete obedience as we trust Jesus for the results.

It takes a lot of work to be a church that purposely reaches people for Jesus.

There are a lot of things that have to come together to be successful fishers of men.  

It won’t just happen

…………………………

Matthew 9:35-38.

Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."

Our church needs people who are willing to do some radical things to reach people for Jesus.

Are you one of those people?  If you are, I am going to invest my and the church’s time and resources into you.

Do you want to go on a fishing trip with me?

Do you know someone who needs Jesus?  Tell me what will work to catch them.  What type of lure do we need to use?

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How series are you about this?

Would someone pray about giving a year to this church and do nothing but actively reach people for Jesus?

Would someone quit their job?

Would someone give away all that they have to reach one for Jesus?

Be extreme for Jesus!

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Let’s pray.

          Need Jesus?                   Time to stop ignoring that call on your life?                  Pray about how far God wants you to go and get back with me.  We’ll live in that cardboard box together!