Fishing Buddies

Do you remember the movie Grumpy Old Men? In the movie the two men were always at each others throats but they were fishing buddies. No one really likes to fish alone. Jesus never intended for us to fish alone. The Church was set up and established to give us someone to fish along side. When you go fishing with someone you learn a lot about them and they learn a lot about you. While you are out on the water you begin to talk about what is going on in your life and you ask questions about the other person's life. To have a fishing buddy means that your are going to let someone in to parts of your life that they may have never known. You can also get more work done when you have a fishing buddy. Jesus sent 72 disciples out and he did it two by two. He did so that they would challenge, comfort , and support one another. Sometimes when we fish with someone else we learn from one another. Sometimes when we fish with someone we teach them things and sometimes they teach us things. We all need a fishing buddy to help us with the boldness we may need to share our faith. This week we will examine what it means to have fishing buddy as we continue our "Go Fish" series.

Fish Guts

The other day I asked my wife if she ever went fishing as a child. She told that she went one time with her grandfather and that she really did not enjoy it. She explained that the part that she disliked the most was baiting the hook because you get worm guts all over you. She then said that after they had caught some fish that she watched them being filleted and she could not stand looking at the fish guts. I really do not think that anyone enjoys filleting fish. As a matter of fact, one of the things that I like about deep sea fishing is that you get someone to clean your fish for you. Today we are talking about guts but literally about "fish guts". We are talking about fortitude and gumption. Has anyone ever said to you, "You don't have the guts to do it". What they are doing is calling you to a dare. They want to know if you really will do it. They are in a sense calling your "bluff". You know why most people do not share there faith with others? They do not share there faith with others because they are scared. They just do not have the "guts" to do it. I do not know what it is but we are just scared to share the good news of Jesus. I think that it has more to do with rejection than anything else. Let's face it no one likes rejection. What if I share with them and they do not receive it well? We may also be scared that someone might asked questions that we really don't have the answers too. To follow is to fish and we fish because we love and care. But it is a hard calling because we sometimes just do not have the guts to share our faith. We also may find it easier to share our faith with a complete stranger than to share our faith with someone that is close to us. Just this week I was talking with a student who shared that her father was not a believer and she just did not know what to say or how to go about sharing the gospel. This week in worship we will look at how to overcome some of these stomach butterflies and anxieties. We see that prayer can help us to have the guts to share what God has done in our lives. I will see you Sunday, "If you have the guts to come".

Why Fish?

Last week we talked about to the principle "follow is to fish". If we signed up to follow Jesus so that we could be better people then maybe we signed in for the wrong reason. Jesus asked the disciples one question will you follow me? He then said, "If you follow me, I will make you fishers of men." I do not know what they expected but they got exactly what he told them they would receive. Everywhere they went they learned how to fish for men. Some of these men where demon possessed, some where lame, others blind or deaf. But the disciples encountered them all and they fished for them all. Some they caught and others got away. But what does it mean for us to fish? I mean should we not mind our own business. I mean the world had told us that Jesus and religion is a private manner for each person to decide on their own. I mean does it really matter if I share my faith, after all should I not really only worry about my own salvation. Well I wish that were the case but the reason that Jesus ministry' went public is because he expected us to share the good news with everyone, everywhere. It is the reason that the book of Matthew ends with the Great Commission. Jesus intended for us to share our faith not hide it within our own heart. In the forth chapter of Acts, the two brothers that were first called to follow Jesus were confronted by the magistrates to keep there witness to themselves. There response was how can something so special as Jesus not be shared with the whole world. It is like when you get something new that you are so proud of. You want to show it off. People can tell by the look on your face that you have received something special. Why do we fish? We fish because we have been given the opportunity. We fish because God has given us the proper equipment. We also fish because we love others because God loved us so much that he let his son die for us. To follow is to fish. Lets go fishing.