Good fishermen usually have well-stocked tackle boxes full of their favorite lures and other equipment that have given them success in the past. Fish act differently from day to day and depending on other factors such as time of day, temperature, etc. Successful fishermen adjust their bait to fit what the fish are biting. Fishers of men should have the same mindset.
If all we have is hammer, everything starts to look like a nail. If we only have one bait and one-size of hooks in our tackle boxes, we are going to be limited in what we can catch. If we have only one way that we present the gospel, we limit our effectiveness.
If we look at how Jesus fished for people, we quickly realize that he custom tailored his words and approach to the individuals he encountered.
If we are going to fish for people the Jesus way, we will need to do the same. Below I have listed some key things we might want to have in our own spiritual tackle boxes.
A Commitment to God’s Mission
Fishing takes commitment. Commitment comes when we are convinced that something is so important that it is worth any sacrifice we may have to make to see it happen. We will believe that it deserves our heart, time, finances, and effort – for as long as it takes. Unless we are truly committed, we may agree that being on mission is worthwhile, but other things will preempt it. Committed people are different. Nothing stops a committed person from putting his or her convictions into action.
Many Christians are committed to God, to church, to family, to their jobs, and to pursuing a happy life. Relatively few are committed to the Great Commission, which is a huge priority to God.
I recently talked with an avid fisherman. This man has an important job, two of them, in fact – his main job and his “side hustle.” Despite having to invest huge amounts of time in his work, he still finds time to fish almost on a daily basis. Living on a lake doesn’t hurt. Nevertheless, why does he do it? Is it because somewhere back in the past he made a commitment which he now honors, or is it that he is committed because he loves to fish? I think you know the answer. How do we move from being dutiful, or perhaps guilt driven, fishers of men to fishing because we love to fish?
We have to start somewhere. Most of us may have begun sharing with others because we were excited to know Jesus and wanted others to experience his amazing grace, too. That was what prompted me as a brand new Christian. But after we encounter enough “push back,” we may back off. Sadly, some followers of Christ have never shared the gospel with another person for whatever reason. If we have backed off or never even started to fish for people, we will need to overcome an inner resistance to get going.
It’s a challenge to overcome the inertia of doing nothing. We will have to want to do it and be willing to “press through.”
We may have to commit ourselves to do it out of a sense of duty; however, as with my friend, fishing grows on people. We may find that fishing for people becomes something we want to do. That is when we may become “addicted” to what brings us joy, which can produce a lasting commitment.
If we are the best fisherman in the world but are never set aside time to go fishing, even the least talented fisherman will catch more fish than we.
What we do with our time reveals what we truly believe and what is important to us. Unless we make ourselves available for God’s Great Commission work of fishing for people, we may only be deceiving ourselves into thinking we are disciples.
An Interest in People
I have known people, and most likely so have you, who were committed to telling others about Christ, but who apparently had little love for their listeners. Their words about God’s love were offset by their unloving attitude, sending a confusing mixed message. Jesus, on the other hand, combined an unswerving love of truth with a deep love for people. This made him intriguing and magnetic for anyone whose heart longed for God, and repulsive to those who were playing religious games. If we do not have God’s love for people, we will likely attract religious hypocrites and repel the ones to whom we are sent. People are tired of being approached by those who only want to present a sales pitch to them without having any sort of caring relationship. Unless we are genuinely interested in people, we will never really be good at “catching” them.
People are not evangelism “targets.” They are valuable individuals who are worth knowing, loving, and relating to, whether or not they ever choose to follow Jesus.
People instinctively know whether or not we are interested in them. May God increase our love for and interest in the people with whom we relate.
A Servant’s Heart
Jesus came to serve and ultimately give his life away. Service is an earmark of a true disciple. In today’s consumer culture, we are trained to think more in terms of what’s in it for me than in being a servant to others. Many consumerists assume those who share the gospel have the same mindset, which makes them suspicious of our motives. They may think we are just trying to build up the numbers in our church or are after their financial support. If we have Christ’s servant heart, we will look for ways to demonstrate God’s love in practical ways, not as a project, but because we love. This can include spending time in conversation to get to know someone, setting aside time to visit at people’s homes, having people over to our residences, praying for them privately and one-on-one in person, helping with a project, or just being there for them during a crisis. Loving and serving people is worthwhile in its own right. It also may open the door for us to be able to share why Jesus is so important to us.
Jesus wants his followers to serve our way into the hearts and lives of those around us. Loving service gives credibility to the gospel message.
Knowledge of the Bible and the Gospel
Bible literacy is very low, even among churchgoers. As a culture we have grown lazy and unmotivated to pursue knowledge of the Scriptures and Bible truth. The Word of God is our life. It is our bread. We should habitually “eat” it by reading, meditating, and applying its truth. We should expect the Holy Spirit to reveal wonderful things about God to us, but many of us do not even crack open our Bibles. Many churchgoers show up on Sundays with their mouths open, expecting the pastor to give them enough pre-digested food to last them for a week. True disciples make a commitment to grow in their knowledge, understanding, and application of the Bible through personal study and application.
31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:31–32 (NKJV)
We will never be effective fishers of men unless we understand the gospel well enough to share it easily and naturally.
Dependence on the Holy Spirit
When Jesus launched his three-year itinerant preaching ministry, he quoted Isaiah 61:1 to help us understand his identity and mission.
And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” 20 And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” Luke 4:17-21 (ESV)
Jesus depended upon the Holy Spirit to equip and empower him for the ministry he carried out over the rest of his earthly life. Although he was and is God in the flesh, he depended on the Spirit, just as we must. Jesus was filled with the Spirit at the River Jordan and operated in the power and gifts of the Spirit throughout his ministry.
One of Jesus’ titles is Baptizer in the Holy Spirit (Luke 3:16).
Jesus commanded his followers to receive this empowering from on high so we too can be as effective as the Spirit can make us.
We simply cannot rely on human intelligence and ability, if we want to be expert fishers of people.
(If you are interested in learning more about the baptism and gifts of the Spirit, you can read my other articles on this website or purchase my book on the subject, entitled Promise of the Father,)
Boldness
The Holy Spirit gives Jesus’ followers boldness to share the Gospel. This is the main function of the baptism in the Spirit.
8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8 (NKJV)
We may know what the Gospel says, be committed to the Great Commission, and love people, but eventually we will face those crucial times when courage is required. That is one of the main reasons we need the baptism in the Spirit.
When we share the gospel, we run the risk of being misunderstood, rejected, ignored, or even persecuted. Jesus said that if we confess him before men, he will confess us before his Father in heaven and the angels; but if we are ashamed of him and the Gospel before men, he will not give us this heavenly approbation. (Matthew 10:32-33) These are sobering words.
The Apostle Peter denied Jesus during a time of great fear and pressure; so, we should not be surprised when we are tempted to keep our mouths shut when we should be standing up boldly for truth. I am not suggesting that we be obnoxious representatives of Christ. There are appropriate times and ways to share God’s truth and other times to be silent. Knowing which is which requires us to be sensitive to the Spirit’s leading. However, when it is clearly the right time to be bold, that is what needs to be in our “tackle box.”
Patience and Determination
Fisherman must be patient and determined. Sometimes the fish are biting and other times they are not. We are encouraged to believe that God’s Word will not come back void, but will accomplish his intention. (Isaiah 55:11) Paul exhorted his disciples to never become weary in well doing because “in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:9) Working with people requires patience and determination.
We may fail in our attempts over and over, but quitting makes failure permanent.
We cannot always know what is going on beneath the surface in a person’s life. On the exterior he or she may appear to be uninterested or resistant, when deep inside he may be wrestling with God or she could be close to surrendering to Christ. The Apostle Paul is a great example of God’s ability to get through to the most hostile foes of the Gospel. We can ask the Lord to encourage our hearts to keep sowing into the lives of those around you. It will not go unrewarded.
As we look at our own tackle boxes, perhaps you, like me, are missing some gear. Don’t worry. God’s grace will make up for what we lack. The important thing is to start fishing and add as much gear as we can along the way.
If we wait to begin until after we think we are completely ready, we may never catch a fish.
Every person we lead to faith in Jesus is a person added to God’s family and rescued from Satanic oppression. Every person we help to become a fisherman will multiply our efforts.
Now, let’s get fishing!
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