Fishing vs Hunting

1. Fishing First in Your Own Pond

And that know you, people that you care about, people that you want to go to heaven. When I ask people to put together a prospect list, I tell them that there’s only really two qualifications. Number one, you want them to go to heaven, and number two, they currently don’t know the Lord. If they fit those two criteria, then put them on your prospect list and start praying for those people. Now, what I want you to think about doing is ask yourself this question. Who’s the person that most is on your heart today? Or maybe persons. What kind of friend, family member, neighbor, coworker, do you know that it just breaks your heart that as far as you know, this person’s not walking with the Lord and is not going to be with you in heaven?

2. Think Like the Fish in Your Pond

Write that person or person’s name down. And I want you to start praying for them. The most impactful thing you can do is to start first and foremost fishing in your own pond. Secondly, second key to spiritual fishing is you need to think like the fish that are in your pond. I want you to notice what Paul said about this. He said in 1 Corinthians 9, to the Jews I became a Jew to win the Jews. To the weak, I became weak to win all the weak. I become all things to all men that by all possible means I might save some. And he said, I did all this for the sake of the gospel that I might share in its blessings. So, what do you need to know?

What are their interests? What are their needs? What are their hurts? The Bible says over and over again that Jesus could read people’s minds. He knew what they were thinking. Well, we can’t read people’s minds like Jesus could, but we can’t ask questions, right? We can find out what they’re thinking by listening carefully and then paying attention. So make a list of common ground areas you have with the person that is most on your heart today. And you’ll find that you have hopefully some common experiences, some common interests, some common needs, some common hurts. I know one church has been pretty successful in going to a library and offering a little four or five-week seminar on grieving and how to deal with loss. And they deal with it from a spiritual perspective.

So all of these people come together for this free seminar about dealing with loss, and they learn how God is the God of all comfort and how he can help them with this, and then from there they’re able to connect with them. They’ve served them in their area of need, and then they can set up a time to share the gospel with them. I think that’s really creative. We need to think about ways we can connect with people. Somebody said 90% of evangelism is the art of asking the right questions. And I might add, then listening intently to the answer. So make a list of questions that will show you care that could lead to more conversation with these persons that are on your heart that you want to reach out to.

Someone says, love’s first task is to listen. Again, people say, Well, what do I say first? Well, maybe the first thing you ought to say is just a sincere, how are you? And wait long enough to see what they have to say. Listen intently to their answer. And then from there try to lead them to some sort of way that the Lord or the scriptures answers their felt need. You know, when you go to a doctor, a good doctor is going to say, Well, what brings you to see me here today? Well, I’ve not been feeling too well. Okay. Tell me your symptoms. And a good doctor will take out a stethoscope and he’ll listen to your heart and he’ll ask a bunch of questions and maybe do some vital signs, and he’s he’s gathering or she gathering information so they can make a proper diagnosis.

Well, this is what I think your problem is, and I think this will help you to get better. I mean, that’s what our doctors do. Now, I’m not a physician, but I am a physician’s assistant. And if you’re a Christian, so are you.

They have you talk to the physician’s assistant, the PA. And I’m told the PA can do almost everything that a doctor does, and the doctor’s only brought in if there’s some situation that needs really special counsel. But I like to see myself as an assistant working under the tutelage of the great physician. And I want all of you, as you think of yourself as a matchmaker, to see yourself in a similar circumstances spiritually. So you ask people, where are they hurting? You see if you can get them to open up about their problems, and everybody’s got them, right? And here’s you that’s showing that you care. People don’t care how much you know until they first know that you truly care. And so, as physician assistants, let’s ask people how they’re doing, sincerely listen, find out what their problems are, and somehow or other connect with them.

And at some point, I like to ask people if you were to die tonight, do you think you’d go to heaven? If you were one of the casualties of one of those awful, you know, hurricanes that a while back went through Florida and all the different casualties and people that drowned and all that kind of thing in the floods. If that had been you caught up in one of those awful storms, is your life right now to the point where you’d be ready to meet the Lord? I mean, that forces a journey within. And again, this is not some stranger you ask this of. This is somebody hopefully that you count as a friend, someone that you know and respects you, but maybe you’ve never really gotten around to talking to them about spiritual things in the way really you should have.

This is a real easy way to get people to think, and again, people are not offended by this. They’ll give you some kind of answer. If they say no, then say very simply, well, you know, your salvation is not based upon fate or chance, but choice. And there’s some things that I can share with you about the Lord and about the scriptures. And if you choose to respond to the gospel, then you can know for sure that you can be right with God. And you can pillow your head at night and know that you’re saved. That’s a great way to have peace of mind. I have that peace of mind. We’ve been friends for a while. I would love to share the gospel with you. And if they say, well, yes, I believe I’m saved, then say, okay, good.

I’m glad to have glad you have that confidence. Tell me about your salvation experience. The most common answer that people give is not yes or no, but well, I hope so. Or maybe some statement that indicates they’re not sure. And you just politely ask them, well, if you could know for sure, would you be interested? And again, I’ve got this one hour presentation that’s the basic presentation of the gospel. It’s beautifully put together and well done. Just take an hour of your time, and if you choose to respond to that, you can know for sure whether you’re saved or not. Can we get together some time and go through that? Or I have someone else who gives this presentation regularly. Why don’t you join me and go to this person’s house and we can learn this together?

3. Fish Get Hungry at Different Times

Because I’m still learning this myself. This isn’t that hard, and it’s not that awkward. And please remember that fish get hungry at different times. We’re well aware of that. Sometimes they’re hungry and they’re fishing in the biting in the morning, sometimes in the afternoon, sometimes in the evening. They’re hungry at different times, and we need to be responsive to them based on when they’re more likely to be receptive. Colossians 4 and verse 5 says, be wise in the way you act toward outsiders. This is a verse that tells us how to talk to non-believers. Make the most of every opportunity. Are you making the most of every opportunity when you connect with folks that are lost? He says, let your conversation be always filled with grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

Remember 2 Timothy chapter 2 yesterday? Those of you that were here?

It’s not quarrelsome, but instead kind, apt to teach, patient when wrong, correcting others with gentleness, that perhaps they might repent and come to a knowledge of the truth. What we’re talking about here is something that I just like to refer to as receptivity. Look around at the people you meet or that you know, and just ask yourself how receptive, how open are they to the good news at this particular time? Sometimes people are very open to the gospel and really looking. That’s why if you ask them if you were to die tonight, would you go to heaven? And they say, No, I don’t think so. And they’re willing to talk about it. That’s a great sign. They are very receptive and oftentimes are ready to obey the gospel that very night.

Sometimes they’re not very open. And you need to understand that. And you need to try to wait for a time maybe when they are more receptive. It’s important to realize that there’s a process that people go through. They have to go through different stages to get to the place where they are ready to respond. Most of us are familiar with the parable of the soil and Luke 8 and Matthew 13. It’s in three of the four gospels, I believe. There’s four kinds of receptivity. Some are hard soil. We all know those. They’ve hardened their heart, they are not open or interested. The defensive heart. Probably don’t want to spend a lot of time with folks that are not looking and have hard hearts. We want to spend our time wisely trying to plant the seed in hearts that are considered good soil, the receptive soil or heart.

The others are shallow soil. This is where they’re kind of impulsive about it. And you need to kind of help count the cost with them, as we talked yesterday, so they don’t think this is just you know, you don’t just get baptized to go through some ritual and then go on and live your life any way you want. It’s a first step of being a disciple and being transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may come to know the perfect will of God. And then some are soil with weeds, I think that’s the challenge that Christians have more than anything else. We just get busy with other things, not necessarily things that are evil or sinful, but just so fill up our schedules with other things that we’re distracted, and we don’t have time to feed our souls.

And of course, the good soil is that which softens their heart, and then they bring forth fruit, some 30, some 60, some a hundredfold. So the fact is some people are close to making a commitment to Christ, while others have a long way to go. And the key in effective evangelism is realizing where the people in your life are at. And our job is to try to gracefully and tactfully and kindly show interest in them, pray for them, and take them to the next step.

Until finally they’re ready to become a Christian. Let me give you some examples or some levels of spiritual receptivity in the Bible. I find this fascinating. Isaiah 46, verse 12. Listen to me, you stubborn hearted, you who are far from righteousness. Well, sound like a hard heart to me. When you address somebody that way, does that sound like that they are very receptive, at least at that point? I mean, sometimes the prophets say things like this to try to get their attention and hopefully try to pierce through the hard ground. And uh here’s something else, Mark 12, 34. Jesus, to an unbeliever, realizing that he had answered wisely, he said to him, You’re not far from the kingdom of God, you’re getting close, you’re getting warmer.

Isn’t that interesting the way Jesus affirms this person and lets them know you’re close to where you need to be. And of course, Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3, a very famous verse, he says, I, Paul planted the seed, Apollos watered. God gave the increase or made it grow. So neither is he who plants nor he who waters anything, but only God who makes things grow. So the goals here at South Bumbi are not about just numbers. The goals are not about baptisms. The goals are how many people do I approach? How many opportunities do I take to share the gospel with others? And then we’re faithful to sow the seed, because that’s what God’s going to judge us on, not our results, but on our faithfulness.

Keep in mind as you think about this, and as you see, how can I be a more effective evangelist? That evangelism is a process. And I like this thought. Evangelism is helping people discover how God is already at work in their lives. I think there’s a lot of truth in that. One writer said that God whispers to us with our blessings. He speaks to us through his word, but he shouts to us through the megaphone of pain and suffering. That’s oftentimes when people are flat on their back that they can see God more clearly.

4. Building a Friendship Bridge

The writer in Solomon said, in the day of prosperity, rejoice. In the day of adversity, consider. So when people are going through a tough time, that’s oftentimes the time that they can seek God and be humble and be more receptive. Especially if you can show people how God has already brought them up to this point in their spiritual walk, and now you are here because you’ve been praying for them to help them to know how to take the next step. And so what we’re talking about here is building a friendship bridge. I call this a plan for sharing your faith. First of all, become aware of the unbelievers God has placed in your life. Good friendships are usually intentional rather than accidental. Developing friendships with unbelievers often requires going the extra mile, taking some risk, and moving outside your comfort zone.

With our busy lifestyles, this takes planning. You don’t plan to cultivate friendships with unbelievers, you’ll find you’ll never have the time to do so. Proverbs 16 9 A man’s heart devises his way, but Jehovah directs his steps. So a new neighbor moves in your neighborhood two houses down. Maybe that person is somebody you need to be friendly to, neighborly to, reach out to. Maybe that neighbor is in your neighborhood because you’re a Christian and God wants you to reach out to them. View these things as opportunities. You have a new coworker at work. You got somebody who’s been visiting the services, and they’re not a Christian. Boy, those are golden. Those are folks that are showing a lot of interest. And now it’s your opportunity as a soul winner to befriend them.

That’s not difficult to do, just to befriend people. But oftentimes that’s what people that have been lonely needs a true friend. And so first you befriend them, you become aware of this person that appears to be a seeker, and you reach out to them when the time is right. You have to pray for me. We moved into a neighborhood where it’s probably 80% Islamic. And a lot of those people have been very good neighbors. And Gail and I are trying to reach out to them. But I’ve not had a lot of training or background in working with folks that are Islamic. And now I’m in a neighborhood filled with them. And so I’m going to have to brush up on how I can more effectively reach my neighbors because my neighbors have changed.

And so that’s the mindset. Okay, what do I do with this? These people need the Lord. Step number two, commit to prayer. Pray for these people regularly. Pray that God will draw them to Himself. John 6 and verse 44. And pray that God will give you wisdom as to what to say and to when to say it. And show you care. Again, reach out to these people and be a good listener. Consciously focus your concern on meeting their needs. And step four, be ready to share when the time comes and use crisis situations to show why we all need God. And if they’re in trouble, offer to pray for them. It’s amazing how people that are hurting or had a loved one that has just passed, someone who genuinely says, I heard you lost your mother, or you know, whatever.

We’re so sorry about that. We’re going to approach our God on your behalf and pray that you have comfort. Even atheists appreciate that sentiment. And if they ever have any kind of questions, they’re going to come to you because you showed this kindness and this spiritual interest. Listen, the truth is there are people in the world, plenty of people ready to hear the good news, more receptive than you might think. But there are not enough people ready to go and tell the good news. And that’s everyone can do something, even if it’s just, as I said, being someone’s friend. Remember, Jesus said the harvest is plenteous, but the labors are few. Okay, in the time we have left, what can each Christian do? What can I do?

5. What Can Each Christian Do?

Let me suggest the first thing you can do is to be more prospect conscious. Lift up your eyes and look into the fields for they’re white into the harvest. When you meet someone, be thinking is this person someone that I might be able to share the gospel with? Is this someone I can befriend and take them through the stages so eventually they can become a Christian? Think about that, because so many people go through life, and all these people around them are invisible instead of souls that need saving. And listen and pray for at least three unbelievers on a regular basis. And as I’ve said over and over again, pray for seekers. It is exciting how God will answer that prayer. And seek opportunities to share the good news.

I hope you’ll commit to learn the big picture. They had quite a few people on Saturday sign up to learn how to share this one hour presentation that I’ll be delivering shortly. And that’s such an encouragement. And then once you learn it, you just want to share it with others and start using these invitation cards. I call them these Lord’s Business Cards, where you use them to invite others to hear the big picture presentation of the gospel. Another thing you can do that I’ve been pretty impressed with as far as its impact on many people is you can give someone a copy of the muscle and a shovel. Now, this especially works well for probably people 40 and up who still read. Younger people don’t want to read, they just want to watch videos, it seems.

But uh, this is an impressive book. And uh it’s got 1,500 Bible verses in it. And uh, if you’re not familiar with it, I encourage the church here to buy a big box of them and get familiar with it and look for opportunities to pass these out to others. When I was in uh Kirkland, there was a fellow who came to visit named Joseph Merritt, and I heard that he had become a new Christian. He was a member out of the North Seattle congregation about 20, 25 minutes away from Kirkland. And I said, Oh, tell me about how you came to know the Lord. And he said, Well, you know, my roommate was a Christian, and we were going to the University of Washington together, and uh I noticed he was gone three times a week to study the Bible, and I asked questions, and he just said, if you want to know what my faith is all about, read this book.

Conclusion

And he goes, I did. It was exactly what I needed. And so after reading the book, he asked his friend if he could go to church with him, and he was baptized into Christ, and he’s not missed a service. Recently married a young lady who’s also a Christian. All came from a seeker who happened to read the muscle and a shovel. I could give you other examples similar to that, but it has great potential. So, what will you live for the rest of your life? Paul said that, he said, What is our hope? What is our joy? What is our crown of glory? And he says, It is you. Yes, you will bring us much joy as we stand together before our Lord Jesus Christ when he comes back again.

For you are our trophy and our joy. Paul said it was no greater joy than to see his children walking in the truth. That is so true. So, what will you live the rest of your life for? Who will be in heaven because of you? You know, when we get to heaven and when we’re at judgment, I I know one of the things that we’re going to be asked is when you had the opportunity to confess Jesus Christ, did you do it? Did you die in Christ or did you die in your sins? Right? I mean, that’s certainly a key element that we’re gonna have to deal with in judgment. Another is what I call the ministry question. What did you do with your life and your talents and your treasure that I gave you when you were here on the earth?

That’s the parable of the talents, Matthew chapter 25. Did you do something with what I’d given you? And then thirdly, I think the Lord’s gonna want to know did you bring anybody with you? Right? Have you increased the population of heaven by your efforts when you were here on the earth? And I hope for each of us the answer is yes, or at least I sowed seed everywhere I could to try to make a difference. Because all he expects us to do is to try, right? And then we’ll hear the words, enter ye now into the joy of the Lord. Okay. It’s 1015. Does that mean my time’s up, or I have five minutes? Okay, five more minutes. All right, RJ, thank you. Let’s have some communication here.

Any thoughts or feedback about what we’ve been discussing here about fishing and fishing versus hunting, and how we can be physician assistants? Things like that. Yes, sir. Greg, could you give some examples of uh some of the experiences you’ve had when you have met people, whether they were friends or people within the community that you’ve been fishing, and how you’ve had to adjust your aid to get them to attend or to participate in one of these uh one hour presentation of the picture of the Bible. Wow. Well, a lot of times you ask somebody about it. First of all, I I think it’s best that you not lead with that. In other words, you don’t go over to your neighbor. The very first thing you do is try to say, you know, I’m a Christian over here at South Bumby, and would you come to church with me or I think it’s better to try to develop a rapport first and try to just be friendly to them and ask some questions and maybe try to serve them, let them know that you truly care about them.

And then you’re in an opportunity weeks, months later, when there is either something going on in their life that you know about that you can reach out to them about, or there’s some sort of special topic that you think they’d be of interest and hearing. I know sometimes people struggle with the problem of human suffering, for example, and they really have an intellectual issue with that. And so uh I had a lesson on the problem of human suffering, and so there were a couple of people I knew that uh could really use this, and so you invite them to something specific rather than just some generic come to church. And so you just sort of, you know, try to keep the door open and look for opportunities to see if you know they have some spiritual interest.

I had one person, I I was asking them about the big picture presentation, and they said, now this is not a Bible study, this is a presentation, right? I thought that was really interesting how important that was to him. I said, Well, we’re gonna be discussing the scriptures, yes, but it is a presentation. You can just listen, and I’m not gonna have a debate with you. If you have questions afterwards, we’ll go over it, and you know, if it if you don’t want to have a bunch of questions afterwards, you don’t have to. So it’s just real important to kind of make them feel comfortable and see what you can do to uh maintain a friendship, even if they don’t seem that interested. You know, you want to have people sense you care about them in their as a person, not just as a convert.

Yes, sir. I think that’s walk about John and that in 1 Corinthians chapter 9, where we’re Paul is saying, Well, we guys became weak. He’s not saying that I compromise my faith for the benefit of your margin, but he’s saying that I have a fight. Yes with what should one group at one time I was there as well. Yes, and and build upon that. And where that is important I would make in all of this is you’re gonna be talking to a lot of people that are in the world, and they have different patterns and things such as that that are not biblical. And in that, you have to understand that they’re in the world, that they have to work. They have to learn to call before they can walk.

Yeah, and don’t expect non-believers to act like believers. I mean, so many people, you know, are living with someone with whom they’re not married. And obviously, we know that’s not a moral thing to do, but in many cases, they don’t realize that’s an immoral thing to do because they’re living in a culture where that’s widely accepted, and they’ve they haven’t learned that that’s not what God’s will is for their lives. So it’s real important in that sense to have empathy for where they’re coming from and to look for opportunities to share with them the higher standards of the gospel and encourage them to live it out. But um, yeah, and just see yourself as being put in a certain place because God wants you to be there to make a difference in this person’s life.

And it’s okay if the person is not interested, you go on to someone else. You’re just constantly looking and seeking those that are looking. Okay, five minutes is up. Thank you all for being here today. God bless you, and I look forward to our big big picture presentation for the sermon.