Once there was a group of people who called themselves fishermen. And there were many fish in the waters all around them. In fact, the whole area was surrounded by streams and lakes and rivers filled with fish. And the fish were hungry. Week after week, these people who called themselves fishermen held meetings and talked about their call to be fishermen, the abundance of fish, and how they might go about fishing. Year after year, they carefully defined what fishing was all about, defended fishing as a noble occupation, and declared that fishing is always the primary task of fishermen.

They constantly searched for new and better methods of fishing. They loved such slogans as "Fishing is the task of every fisherman." They sponsored special meetings known as "Fisherman's Campaigns." They went on tours to discuss fishing and promote fishing and hear about all the new developments and advances in fishing and new ways of presenting the bait to the fish that made it more attractive. They built large, beautiful buildings called "Fishing Headquarters," and selected some of their best fishermen to staff it. They appealed to everyone to become fishermen. There was only one thing they did not do. They didn't fish. Ever.

In addition to organizing and holding regularly scheduled meetings, they organized a board to send out fishermen to other parts of the world where the fish were plentiful. The board appointed various committees and held many meetings to talk about fishing, defend fishing, and develop new strategies for fishing. But the committee members never went fishing.

Large, expensive, training centers were built for the purpose of teaching fishermen how to fish. They offered courses on the needs of fish, the nature of fish, the psychological makeup of fish, and how to approach and feed fish. The professors all had degrees in fishology, but none of them ever went fishing. They only taught fishing. After completing the course of study, graduates were given their fishing license and sent out to do full-time fishing, some to distant waters filled with fish. Those who were called to be fishermen were commissioned and sent to fish. But like the fishermen back home, they could talk for hours about the need for fishing, and they knew all the current developments in fishing, but they didn't fish. They were too busy doing other things. Some said they really wanted to fish, but since they just didn't have time, they would just furnish fishing equipment for others. Others felt that their job was to establish a good relationship with the fish so that the fish would be more receptive to the fishermen.

After one stirring meeting on the "Necessity for Fishing," one young fellow left the meeting and actually went fishing! He reported the next day that he caught two outstanding fish! He was honored for his excellent catch, and immediately a nationwide tour was scheduled so that he could tell how he did it. So he quit fishing at once in order to have time to tell others about the experience. This consumed quite a bit of his time, so much so that he had no time at all for fishing. Now it's true that many of the fishermen made personal sacrifices and put up with all kinds of difficulties. Some lived near the water and had to bear the smell of dead and decaying fish every day. They were ridiculed by some who made fun of fishermen's clubs and for the fact that, though they claimed to be fishermen, they never fished. They wondered about those people who felt that attending weekly meetings to talk about fishing was a waste of time. After all, were they not following the Master, who said, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men"?

Imagine how hurt they were when one day someone suggested that those who don't go fishing were not really fishermen, no matter how much they claimed to be. But they understood the criticism. After all, can people who never catch any fish really claim to be fishermen? Are you following if you're not fishing? BEEN FISHIN' LATELY?

In our text, when Jesus calls his disciples to follow Him and become fishers of men, we, too, are encouraged to Carry a Net for Christ! Read Mark 1:16-20. It would be some time before Simon and Andrew fully understood the metaphor "fishers of men." In time they would discover that their "catch" would not be snagged and sold; rather, it would be rescued and set free! The disciples' new net would not be of twine and weights, but of the words of Christ, the Gospel, the good news of forgiveness and salvation! Like his disciples, Jesus has called you and me to be "Fishers of men." What does following Jesus mean for us?

First, to follow Jesus means to Subordinate Everything to the Savior. Give yourself - heart, mind, and soul - to Jesus. Subordinate yourself and you may follow. Hand over all your boats and nets, your business and your wealth. Those who will follow the Lord pursue riches of a totally different nature, which rust and moth cannot destroy. To follow the Lord requires that one subordinate other earthly relationships. Whoever loves father or mother, husband or wife, son or daughter more than Jesus is not worthy to follow Jesus. Subordinating everything to the Savior also means repenting - being sorry for our failures in all of the above and trusting that Jesus has forgiven us for it.

A mother calling to her son shouted, "Johnny, tell your sister to get in the house out of the rain!" "I can't, Mom!" came the reply. "And just why can't you?" demanded his mother. "Because we are playing Noah's Ark, Mom, and she is one of the sinners!" We like to make the distinction between the sinners on the outside and the saints on the inside, but when we do that, we tend to forget about the reality that the saints inside are still sinners! Sinners saved by grace, but sinners nevertheless. Failure to be aware of this reality has led followers of Jesus at times to feel that the message of repentance does not apply to us. Repentance is only relevant to those sinners outside. Living with that kind of thinking will never help us to become followers of Jesus! We need to start by realizing that WE have failed. And that even though God does see us as saints through Jesus, we are still sinners. So we need to repent - daily. In fact, if we don't, we will have a hard time relating to those people whom Jesus has called us to go fishing for.

To follow the Lord also means that you will strive to Simulate Your Savior's Ways. Be holy! "But just as He who called you is holy so be holy in all you do." (1 Peter 1:15) Be humble! "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus…" (Philippians 2:5) Love and forgive unconditionally! "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." (Eph.4:32). Here is the good news about Jesus' holiness and perfection - He came here to be perfect in our place - because we couldn't. He showed perfect love, perfect selflessness, perfect humility, and perfect forgiveness. And the good news is that God now has given you credit for that. You have been forgiven for your failures. So discipleship, following Jesus, means trying to copy that holiness now in your life! Not only will it be a way to thank Jesus, and benefit your own life, but it will attract others to Him as well!

To follow Christ is also to Share the Cross of Christ. Perhaps this is the greatest expense which faces the one who will carry a net for Christ. A person might just challenge us, "Did Jesus really say all this was necessary to follow Him?" Check out Jesus' own recruitment model He gave us: "Anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me." It was on the cross that Jesus achieved atonement with God for the world. Our cross is a sign of our discipleship. Will we lift it? Or let it lie?

I received this email from a friend this week: "I have started reading my bible during my lunch break. You should see some of the curious looks I get when they see their boss doing this. While most are clearly not going to ask me anything of what they see, I have had some ask me what I am doing and what church I go to. Mostly I find surprise in their faces, and that got me to think more about my life as a Christian. I find I am questioning how we (Christians) are satisfied in covering up our faith at work. I see it all the time. While we all have pictures of our family, and certificates from one university or another on the wall, when is the last time I saw a cross on the wall or desk of an office? It seems to me that in an effort to make the workplace politically correct, we somehow twisted our acceptance of the faith of others into the denial of our own. So now my bible is on my desk. The fact that I feel that some risk is being taken probably speaks more to how far I have yet to go in evangelism, than it does to anything else. But it is a step, if only my first." We all have far to go in witnessing our faith, don't we? We have avoided fishing even though we talk about the importance of it a lot. But following Jesus means taking up his cross. And it does go one step at a time. Maybe the first is taking up his cross and putting it on your desk at work. Or reading your bible. But don't stop there!

Finally, to follow Christ means To Share the Work of Christ. Now we actually have to DO it! We actually have to get out our proverbial fishing poles and fish! The preaching of the gospel was Jesus' highest priority. His gospel was more important than eating and drinking, than healing and miracles, than any personal comfort. The Gospel is this: Jesus has suffered your hell in your place, He has given you his good life and taken your sins and mistakes away! Believe this and you will be saved. Saved from yourself! Saved from sin, the devil, and death! Jesus was determined to fulfill that gospel and to proclaim that good news to sinners like us!

Do you remember the Mercedes TV commercial a few years ago that showed a Mercedes crashing into a concrete wall during a safety test? An engineer in a white lab coat walks over after the crash and kneels down to examine the damage, which is minimal. A reporter then asks the engineer about Mercedes' energy-absorbing car body. After the engineer tells all about the unique design, the reporter asks him why Mercedes doesn't enforce their patent on the design, a design evidently copied by several other companies because of its success. The engineer then replies matter-of-factly, "Because some things in life are too important not to share." How true this is! There are many things in life that fall into this "too important not to share" category. Advances in science, in medicine, in technology. But all of these pale in importance to that of sharing our faith in Jesus. Let's not forget to actually go fishing for human souls who are dying without their Savior. It means we need to share the work of the Savior - proclaiming the Gospel!

By God's grace, there is a goal in all of this! Charles Spurgeon once told this story about King Cyrus, the man who conquered Babylon and freed the Jews from captivity: A visitor who was admiring Cyrus' gardens said it gave him much pleasure. "Ah," said Cyrus, "but you don't have as much pleasure in this garden as I have, for I have planted every tree in it myself." Spurgeon then commented, "One reason some saints will have a greater fullness of heaven than others will be that they did more for heaven than others. By God's grace they were enabled to bring more souls there."

Now, heaven is God's gift to us, and it is going to be wonderful for every one of us! But this should cause all of us who follow Jesus to do some serious thinking. How many people will be in heaven because of us? Our desire should be that when we reach our eternal home, some will say to us, "I'm so thankful for you. It was your testimony, your life, your invitation to believe in Jesus that accounts for my being here today." Heaven's joys will be so great for all of you because God loves you so much and has prepared your place there. But think how awesome it will be to see others there whom you have brought! So do all you can to bring to Jesus those who are lost in sin! That's how you can lay up pleasures in heaven! Been Fishin' Lately? Let's stop talking about how important it is and get out there and do it! Amen.

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