The Fisherman’s Excuse

THE FISHERMAN’S EXCUSE

 

Brother Gary and I went fishing Tuesday and we had a great time we caught thirty one fish. I say we caught thirty one fish because there were many that got away. Like the Big Red who decided when he got to the boat he did not want to partake in our company turned and snapped Gary’s line, or the time when my bobber sat in the water and I decided to adjust my hat which left me in a predicament and Bro. Gary laughing when my bobber disappeared and with hat in hand unable to set the hook or reel the rod. (Adjusting your hat in times of crisis) but we all know what excuses are like don’t we?

 

I’ve been told that there’s a fine line between fishing and standing on the shore like an idiot.

 

Our idea of fishing is to put all the exertion up to the fish. If they are ambitious we will catch them. If they are not, let them go about their business which leads me to my point in the book of Matthew.

 

Matthew 4:18-22 18 And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. 19 And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. 20 And they straightway left their nets, and followed him. 21 And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them. 22 And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.

 

2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

 

In Matthew’s account we see two sides of the work of fishermen – casting the net and mending the net. This pictures the dual purpose of the church – evangelism and discipleship.

 

Fish have to be sought to be caught. They don’t normally jump in the boat.

 

You don’t catch a fish by swimming after it – that’s stupidity, but neither do you catch fish by staying on dry land – you must go to the water.

 

We tend to emphasize the “discipleship” side of the church because it is more comfortable to deal with those we are comfortable with!

 

We can mend our nets for ages, but if we never cast them we have wasted our time!

 

When fishermen return home without a catch, they generally have an excuse!

 

• The fish weren’t biting! Study the fish’s habits. Know what to use for bait, when the best time of day is to catch it, and how to cast your line.
• The weather was wrong – it was too hot or too cold to catch anything! In the church, you create your own spiritual climate with those you touch, regardless of those around you.
• My hook was dull! The blunt hook of human wisdom will never convict like the sharp truth of the Word of God. You can win an argument and lose the soul!
• I was in the wrong spot! “The fish are really biting on the foreign field.” Fish where God has placed you.
• The water was too rough! Fishing can still be successful regardless of the rough waters you are in personally.
• I ran out of gas! If you are spiritually drained, just come back to Calvary and ask God to renew your passion.

 

We will stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ and receive rewards based, not on our sins which have already been judged at Calvary, but on the good and bad (eternally profitable and merely wasteful) things done during our lives. What you do in your temporal body will have an impact on eternity!

 

How will you feel when you reach the “home port” and the Master Fisherman asks, “How many did YOU catch for me?” Will you only have a feeble excuse to give Him?

Anticipate!!

Pastor Bryan