I decided to occasionally add some blog entries referring to some sermons I've been hearing during worship at church.  The church that I go to has some very Spirit-filled services and a great Pastor who has a lot of VERY wise things to say each Sunday morning.  I really thing these sermons should be included somehow in search engine results.

Anywho, this past week's sermon was titled "Discipleship... Fishing For Men".  (Scripture Reference: Mark 1:17)

A FISHING STORY

Our pastor, wearing a tan life vest, had all sorts of fishing poles, nets lures, etc. at the front of the church.  (He's a "prop" sort of public speaker - I love that!)  He began talking about a lake he knew about.  He gave the following statistics about the lake:

1) The size of the lake is 922 square miles.
2) The number of known "keepers" in the lake are 93,807.
3) The number of docks on the lake is 37.
4) The number of people that fished in 2008 was 8,389.
5) The amount of money spent on fishing in 2008 was $5,272,099.00.  (That's a lot of money for fishing!)
6) The number of fish caught in 2008 were 127.
7) The number of fishermen to catch each fish (and some caught multiples!) was 66.
8) Each fish caught in 2008 cost $41,512.59 per fish.

Now the lake he was telling us about could very well be a real lake (depending on how awful the fisherman were), but it wasn't a real lake.  No, this lake was an analogy of the county that we live in and the fish represent the number of new christians won to Christ in 2008.  I'll show the comparisons below:

1) The size of the lake is 922 square miles.  (This is the square mileage of the county I live in.)
2) The number of known "keepers" in the lake are 93,807.  (This is the population of the county I live in.)
3) The number of docks on the lake is 37.  (This is the number of Southern Baptist churches in our county)
4) The number of people that fished in 2008 was 8,389.  (The number of members of the Southern Baptist churches in our county)
5) The amount of money spent on fishing in 2008 was $5,272,099.00.  (That's a lot of money for fishing!) (The money collected by Southern Baptist churches within our county)
6) The number of fish caught in 2008 were 127.  (The number of persons who were saved by giving their hearts and lives to Christ in our county in 2008)
7) The number of fishermen to catch each fish (and some caught multiples!) was 66.  (The number of church members in the county I live in who directly contributed to helping win those new Christians to Christ.)
8) Each fish caught in 2008 cost $41,512.59 per fish.  (Based on the amount of money collected by Southern Baptist churches in the county where I live divided by the number of new christians who gave their heart to Jesus in 2008)

Now while that may seem like a lot of money to win one person (fish) to Christ, Jesus thought that even if you spent the full $5,272,099 (or MORE!) to win just one soul... it's worth every penny.  (Read Mark 8:36 and Luke 15:7)

UNUSUAL FISHING METHODS

Our pastor then began to talk about the different fishing methods that churches today use to try and catch fish (new christians).

1) Some fisherman just hold a net into the water along the bank and cry out, "Heeeerrreeeee fishy, fishy!  Here fishy, fishy!!!"  They expect the fish to just swim up into their nets.  Unfortuantely some christians or churches have the same technique... they may open their doors on a Sunday morning expecting people to come in, but very few do.  They expect the fish to come to them, rather than going to where the fish are.  You may accidently catch a fish this way, but the odds are definately long in favor of it.

2) Some fisherman study the "Ultimate manual for fishing and being a fisherman".  This manual has everything you would ever need to know about being a fish... all the possible lakes, all the possible fish, the best techniques to catch them, the best bait and lures... everything you need to know.  The problem is, they never apply the knowledge they've learned from the "Ultimate manual for fishing..." at the lake!  Some chrisitans and churches study the Holy Word of God (the Bible) for a long time and know all the ends and outs of what God expects from us.  They only problem is... they never apply it!  In order to be a great fisherman and pleasing to Christ, you have to CATCH A FISH from time to time.  If you know how to do it, but don't do it... do you really understand?

3) Some fisherman have been passed down several rods & reels, and a whole tackle box full of lures and equipment from their fathers.  This equipment was passed down from their father's father... and from his father.  This younger generation fisherman has been told how successful these lures were 30-40 years ago and how many fish were brought to the shore.  Surely he will catch a lot of fish, right?  Wrong!  When he tries to use the lures like the family members who passed them down through the years, he doesn't catch anything.  Why?  Because when he tries to cast the lures out into the lake, they fall apart before hitting the water... they are so old.  Most are falling apart or have faded colors.  The reels are running out of line or getting tangled, and that's only if the rods don't break.  See, some christians or churches try to catch new christians using techiniques from 30-40 years ago, but the methods and equipment for catching new fish has changed.  The fish of today need the latest and greatest rods and reels, or new colorful lures that are more attractive in the lake they swim in.  Using old traditions passed down from generation to generations to try and catch the fish of the today won't be as successful as they used to be.  (My addition here: read John 21:1-11.  Jesus gave them a new technique... they used it (in faith)... and they caught so many fish that they couldn't draw the net in.)

4) Then there is a final type of fisherman... One who has a grand tackle box, which many different sizes, shapes, and colors of lures.  One who invests in the latest and greatest equipment.  One who studies techniques, and yet still goes to the lake to practice their new found knowledge.  One who knows where the fish are in the lake and gets in a boat to go to where they are.  One who doesn't favor one type of fish over another.  One who is happy to just be on the lake... given the opportunity to fish.

Which type of fisherman do you want to be?

FISHING FOR FRIENDS AND FAMILY

Often times, some of the easiest "fish" to catch are our friends and family members.  The Bible gives several examples of fishing among people we know:

John 1:40
Mark 2:14-17
Mark 5:18

 

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