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 Makers
of Fish
Stand by Camera three,
start a slow zoom to a medium close-up - New birth
experience coming in five, four, three, two, one…
Mat 4:19 And he saith unto
them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
Untold billions of dollars
are coerced out of the pockets and purses of God fearing
Christians every year, all designed to go to the heathen
lands in salvation programs, mission fields, and ventures to
keep man from an everlasting hell. Judging from the
expensive jewelry of those making the appeals, the luxurious
television studios and gargantuan houses of worship, air
strips and media centers, not all of those billions are
reaching their foreign destinations.
Their goal starts noble
enough, ‘saving the lost soul from eternal damnation,’ but
languishes quickly to ignorance. These “do err, not knowing
the scriptures…” Mat
22:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not
knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.
Their
goal is to populate heaven. They seek to take the honor of
the Saviour by offering His salvation to anyone who will
listen. Convinced in their imagination that the Creator can keep the
universe spinning but not find the
lost soul in India, they desire to become “fishers of men.”
By encompassing land and sea, they wish to proselyte the
entire world. And they are all on a tight, tight schedule.
This must be done before the Lord returns. How strongly
they must pray the Lord returns during a ratings period...
“Every moment you wait, every
dollar you continue to treat as you own…”
But what kind of men will
these fishermen catch?
Roll videotape, bring music
under – coming out of this we’ll need a tight shot – someone
make sure that the impromptu prayer is loaded on the
teleprompter and give me a cutaway shot of the phones on
Camera one. Stand by Announcer - Offer 355 and superimpose phone
number…
I know about as little about
fishing as any person on the planet, but I do know this: If
I cast a line into a lake I won’t catch a rabbit. Or a
pony. Or a deer. I’m going to eventually catch a fish. It
might one of thousands of different varieties of fish,
depending on where I am, the bait and other conditions, but
it will be a fish.
Whenever the Lord instructed
his disciples to let down their net, they always a)
let it down in water (the environment of fish) b)
expected to catch fish, and c) succeeded.
Today’s Christian world is
steeped in ignorance and obsessed with fishing. And while
they’re off fishing, the sheep are starving. I like to
think God gave preachers one of two jobs: fishers of men, or
feeders of sheep. Here’s a little practical wisdom:
A preacher that keeps his sheep well fed and nourished will
catch some men…
Now if I were skilled enough
to fish, I’d go out and try to catch one. I wouldn’t go out
and try to make one. Plenty of fish already out
there. The missionary is going out to make fish – that is,
he’s trying to make children of God. Truly, that’s his
goal, no matter how he might try to scripture-coat it. And
we know by truth and understanding, a person is either a
child of God or he is not. In this story, you are either a
fish, or you are not.
So the missionary is going to
cast his net and catch a believer. After all, who but a
believer, who but a child of God is going to believe the
things the missionary tells him? Now you know for sure
what preaching to the choir means.
Even though he is aiming for
those he believes are bound for hell, his net is weaved in such a way as
only those bound for heaven can be caught in it. Oh sure,
occasionally he’ll catch a non-believer who gets trapped and
swept up with the crowd, but he’ll be thrown back before too
long. The fisherman’s bait is such that only those already
bound for heaven seek to bite it. What a tremendous waste
of effort, energy and money to try and do a job God has
already done.
Brother, you too can become a
fish. Even though you’re not a fish now, just repeat after
me…
“Father, make me your
child.” Now, who can tell me what’s wrong with that
sentence?
Kill the studio mics, bring
music full; Camera two go wide for the close, bring the
house lights down and roll credits…
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