Gone Fishin'

(Today's message is brought to you by Rance Shuler, my sweet husband)

What do think about when you think about fishin’??  An all day adventure on the creek, river, lake, or sea!??  Sittin’ there bored to death with a line in the water and maybe one bite every 5 hours?? Or how bout a pack on your back full of food and your cookin’ stove, hiking back through the Great Smoky Mountain National Park knowing you’re out of cell service, you probably won’t see another person all day, and there is a great chance you will see a black bear!?  One thing is for sure, which ever scenario you dwell on when you think of “fishin’”, the fact is we all vision a rod in your hand, bait on your hook, line cast into the water time and time again, watching, waiting, and hoping for a bite!  And deep down inside us all, we long for the big catch!

I wonder the exact detail of what JESUS meant in Matthew chapter 4 when HE told Peter and Andrew, “Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men.”  And what did they do????  The next verse (v20) says IMMEDIATELY they left their nets and followed Him!  Right after that JESUS called to James and his brother John and verse 22 says IMMEDIATELY they left the boat and their father and followed Him! 

I like to refer to that as radical obedience to the most radical fishing trip ever!  What an invitation!  I mean really, the Son of God says “Hey guys, you think you’re fishin’ now, come let ME the KING of KINGS, invest in your life and teach you how to reach people for the sake of ETERNITY (emphasis added J )!!” 

And that’s just what JESUS did!  Those fisherman decided that everything would be second to following JESUS first (they left everything) and they let JESUS take them on the most radical fishin’ adventure ever over the next three years!  They saw His love for people!  They listened to his every WORD and asked questions!  They saw the power of GOD working through HIM the SON in performing miracles (healing the lame, giving sight to the blind, raising the dead, feeding 5,000+ with little bread and fish, calming the storm and sea, etc)!!!  Then most important of all, these ordinary men who radically obeyed, saw the perfect SON of GOD beaten and crucified for the sins of the entire world (past, present, future; 1 John 2:1), then raised from the dead on the 3^rd Day!  Over 500 people also saw Him ALIVE and RESTORED, ascending to Heaven, promising to return one day!!!  What an adventure!

Want to go fishin’?????  BELIEVE this!  This is the GOSPEL!  HE did that just for you and me!  Accept JESUS as your Saviour simply by trusting that is WHO HE IS and THAT message is WHAT HE DID OUT OF RADICAL OBEDIENCE TO HIS FATHER, IN LOVE FOR US!  WOW!

Now, follow Him!!!!  Grow in a relationship with HIM through radical obedience to the WORD out of a desire to KNOW HIM and draw closer to HIM and seek HIS WILL and PURPOSE for your life!

If you’re already there in your walk with JESUS then there is no better time to take others fishing than now!  To say, “Hey follow me as I strive to follow CHRIST!”  And simply do what JESUS did!  Teach others how to study God’s WORD, obey GOD’s WORD, and LIVE out GOD’s WORD in radical obedience to HIM!  Share the GOSPEL as much as possible!  Love people!  Encourage people!  Invest in people!

When Jenni and I went fishing, we cast into every hole we came too.  It took a while to figure out which fly they were hitting so we didn’t get many bites at first.  But we didn’t give up!  Finally, some hits, and some misses!  Finally we began to catch fish!  Then my favorite part of the day, I got the privilege of placing my fly rod in Jenni’s hand and teach her how to fly fish!  She seen me model it, and then she followed it!  And I must say, after a few minutes she was doing awesome!  At the end of the day we were still enjoying the blessings from the trip!  The memories, the falls, the cold water, the beauty of the scenery, and yes, the fish!  And if you ever fish with Billy Knight, you will possibly experience the joy of a big trout being caught!

There is hardly anything more enjoyable than helping teach someone GOD’S WORD, then watch them strive to radically obey and follow HIM out of a passionate LOVE for GOD!  Did you know that GOD gets joy and pleasure out of watching us radically strive to obey and follow and draw closer to HIM!!!???  WOW!

Those men radically started the church (read the book of Acts) and were turning the world upside for the LORD JESUS (Acts 17) by simply loving GOD and loving people!  For the sake of ETERNITY, may we love our spouses, love our children, love our enemies, and love the world out of an overwhelming love for GOD! 

You have heard the quote, “Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day, teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime!”  For the sake of Heaven and Hell, let’s be passionate about the Gospel and making disciples, and teach people how to fish!!! J