One day Jesus was teaching the Word of God to a growing crowd by the Sea of Galilee.  Eventually, the crowd grew so large that Jesus had to come up with a way to be seen and heard amidst all the chaos.  His solution?  Jump in Simon Peter’s boat and have him push it out a few feet from shore so that it could serve as a floating pulpit for Him to continue preaching from.  Sound carries great over the water.  It worked wonderfully.

After Jesus was done teaching, He decided to have a little fun with Peter.  “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”  Peter had just been out there all night – the best time to fish – and got nothing.  He just finished cleaning his nets.  Peter – the experienced fisherman.  And now this preacher is telling him how to fish?  Well, the preacher had already earned Peter’s respect, so even though this request made no sense, Peter followed orders.

As soon as he threw the net over the boat, he got more fish than he knew what to do with!  “Guys!  You won’t believe this!  Get out here now!  I need your help to lug them all in!  My nets are ripping!”  James and John row out there as fast as they can, and the three of them haul in the nets bulging with teeming fish.  Can you just see the reaction on the shore?  Those who were still there from the crowd applauding the fishermen’s monstrous effort?  Peter, James, and John, jumping and celebrating in the boat?  And then Peter, realizing the gravity of this situation, falling on his knees before the Almighty God standing in the boat, and confessing his unworthiness to be in his presence.  And finally Jesus comforting him: “Don’t be afraid.”

Jesus had their attention.  And here came the reason he had them row out there, the lesson He wanted them to learn from this amazing display of his glory.  “Hey, you think that was something?  You think netting a bunch of scaly underwater creatures was fun?  Try thinking a grander thought for a second… Imagine multiplying the fun-factor you experienced in the last few minutes by a thousand!  Not that there’s anything wrong with catching fish.  I know you’re trying to earn a living, and taking fish to market day in and day out to earn a few dollars is as good a way as any.  But instead of netting a few dollars, just imagine landing a few destinies!

“Peter, James, and John, so far, you have spent your days being fishermen.  But what I’m inviting you to do – starting right here, right now – is to become fishers of men and women.  Instead of investing your precious time and energy in catching six-inch fish, let’s go after the six-footers!  I’m asking you to give up everything you have and everything you are for the sake of people’s souls.  Come with me, and you’ll see what real living is all about!”

Friends, this might have been an unusual way for Jesus to ask people to follow Him.  But this fits right in with the main theme of everything Jesus taught:  The difference between small fish and big fish.  Jesus has always been asking people – fishermen and businessmen and housewives and teachers and government workers and lawyers and everyone else – this one question:  Are you going to thrown your one and only life into pursuing small fish, or will you risk tossing your nets out there in anticipation of catching the human-sized ones?  These men had just experienced their most successful day ever as fishermen!  But then Jesus challenged them to see bigger fish:  “Hey, netting some perch is fine.  But now let’s kick it up a notch!”  They accepted that invitation right there on the spot.  They left their nets and followed Jesus.

What made Peter do that?  Do you see the similarity between this text and Isaiah 6:1-8?  Both Isaiah and Peter saw the holiness and almighty power of God.  They both trembled in fear, fully realizing how unworthy they were to be in the presence of that holy God.  They both felt their sinfulness.  They were both assured of their forgiveness: the angel telling Isaiah, “your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for,” and Jesus telling Peter: “Don’t be afraid.”  Then, they were both asked to serve: “Who will go for us?” and “from now on you will catch men.”  And they both said YES!  “Here I am.  Send me!”  “Yes, let’s go catch the bigger fish!”

Friends, you’re in the same boat. J  You are unworthy to stane before a holy God.  But in his amazing love, He has forgiven you. Jesus is your Saviour.  Don’t be afraid.  He has replaced the “small fish” of your life with the “big fish” of eternal life.  So now, He is calling you to exchange small fish priorities in for big fish priorities!  He is looking for you to follow Him, to go fishing for six-footers!  And He wants to know, “WHO WILL GO FOR US?”  Will his love for you motivate you to go?

You can start small… 1. Move the Boat off the Shore!  Did you notice the first way Simon Peter helped get Jesus’ message out?  He simply pushed him out a few feet in a boat so more people could hear Jesus speak.  Similarly, there are many simple ways in which you can position people to hear Jesus speak!  Like inviting someone to church.  You aren’t going out on a major limb, being the one doing the speaking.  You are simply bringing someone to a place where they will hear others speak of Jesus.  What a wonderful way to start being on Jesus’ fishing crew!  Get Jesus into a place where your friend or family member can hear Him speak!  Start today!  Invite someone to join you here next week!

Then, kick it up a notch!  2. Go Fishing! For the six-footers! (And five-footers!)  That might mean you have to get a bit dirty.  Fishing is slimy business!  Those fish don’t come out of the water all filleted and deep-batter-fried!  They are slimy and scaly.  It’s a messy kind of job!  So in order to “go fishing” you have to roll up your sleeves.  You have to develop friendships and relationships with people who aren’t yet Christ-followers.  People who aren’t pre-prepared and individually wrapped to go to church and believe in the God you love so much.  The only way you can reach people like this is by starting where they are and befriending them.

Then… share your story.  Share Jesus’ story.  Suppose you and your unconvinced neighbour have forged a friendship over the last few months.  The more you interact, the more open and honest the relationship becomes.  You’ve tested the spiritual waters a few times, and she knows you are “into” God.  One day, she asks you why you’re so fired up about God.  “Sure, I pray when I’m in a bind,” she says, “and I go to church at Christmastime… but that’s about all I need.  Why is this stuff so important to you?”  How would you answer her?

You don’t need to freeze up.  You also don’t need to fire off machine-gun bursts of Bible verses that make no sense to her.  Or jump on a soapbox about how she needs to start living a better life.  Or launch into any number of unhelpful sermons.  Instead, learn to tell your story – your simple, personal story that conveys the impact Jesus has had in your life. Who knows?  You just might give the Holy Spirit something to work with in bringing that person to God!

So learn to tell your own “Before-After Story.”  If your neighbour asked you, “Why are you so fired up about God?” and you can’t convey your answer naturally, sincerely, and clearly in less than a minute, then let me give you some pointers:  First of all, please avoid the “Weird God Story.”  You know what I mean, right?  Like, “I woke up one night from a dream I was having about my brother John.  I looked at the clock and it said “3:16 AM.”  I couldn’t get back to sleep, so decided to finally pick up that Bible.  So thinking about my dream about John, I opened up to the book of John, and remembering the clock, I opened to chapter 3, verse 16, and there the truth hit me like a cement truck!  And Jesus changed my life forever!”  We all have a weird God story or two.  They might even be real!  It might even be the way God somehow reached you.  But when someone asks you “Why are you so fired up about God?” please, oh, please, don’t lead off with: “Well, I woke up one night at 3:16…”  Save that for later.  Way later.

Secondly, don’t be long-winded.  Don’t let your story go way too long.  The person you are talking to doesn’t want what should be a one-minute-story from you go so long their clothes are out of style by the time you’re done.  Don’t keep droning on if you see them darting their eyes or crossing their arms or inhaling deeply.  Keep it brief and allow them to ask questions!  Leave them wanting more.  You don’t have to get it all out the first time.  Thirdly, beware of fuzziness.  Your story shouldn’t have 8 plot lines and 16 main characters in it.  If your friend gets out a chart and starts diagramming the various subplots to your story, it may be a bit too complicated.  Keep it simple!  Fourthly, eliminate “religionese.”  Words like salvation, born again, redeemed, justified, sanctified mean very little to people who aren’t Christ-followers.  This is all code-talk to them.  It might be hard to get rid of the lingo, but you want the person you are talking with to say, “I understood every word you just said.”  Finally, watch out for superiority!  If you let a person think you don’t care about them, if you make it obvious you feel that you are the one with your act together, and they are the lost, pitiable, substandard person, there may be no better way to send an unbeliever running!  If you want to permanently repulse a person from the things of God, try a little superiority on for size.  Works every time.

Try to come up with your own story in a hundred words or less.  I’ll share mine with you.  “For years, religion was something my family did.  I didn’t have a bad experience with it.  I actually enjoyed it.  But honestly, I was going through the motions.  I wasn’t living the right way.  I tried dealing with guilt on my own.  My relationship with God wasn’t very personal.  But then a Bible verse hit home what Jesus had really done for me, and a whole new world opened when I realized that God loved me despite what I had done.  And now, I was energized with the thrilling prospect of living my life for Him!”  There it is.  Simple.  96 words.  My story actually isn’t that exciting.  I have been a Christ-follower since I was baptized as a baby.  Your stories are probably more exciting than mine.  But they don’t need to be exciting.  What matters is that you can clearly and effectively share them with others. 

So I challenge you to work yours out.  In 100 words or less.  In fact, once you finalize it, email it to me!  I promise to look it over for you and give you some feedback.  If it needs some work, I will let you know, very politely. J If I have to scroll down two screens to get to the point, you will hear about it.  If there is an air of superiority about it, you better brace yourself for the reply.  And if it leads off with some “weird God story,” don’t even turn your computer on for a while!  J  But once you accomplish the goal – conveying your story in a brief, focused, and compelling way – I will commend you big time and encourage you to go and start sharing it!

Friends, this opens up further opportunities to tell people the specifics from God’s Word about what Jesus has done for us: God’s Great Exchange.  (Explain) The Bridge.  (Explain) Do vs. Done.  (Explain) The Morality Ladder. (Explain).  Bible Chapters – Ro 3, Eph. 2, Is. 6…

Before we end, remember how Isaiah and Peter felt in the presence of our holy God.  As they looked back on the words they had spoken or not spoken for God, they cried out, “Woe is me!  I am a man of unclean lips!  And my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty!”  “Go away from me, Lord, I am a sinful man.”  Friends, I can’t tell you how many times I have botched up speaking for Jesus.  I have failed so often.  I imagine you have too.  But Jesus tells you, “Don’t be afraid!”  “Your sin is atoned for!  Your guilt is gone!”  Friends, you are forgiven for your failures in this area!  So now, let’s go fishing for the six footers!  Who Will Go For Us?

ESCALATOR video shown .  Friends, do you get the point?  You know what to do.  You have a message to share.  You know who Jesus is.  You know what He has done for you.  Now He is calling you to go for Him.  So finally, you have to take those steps.  We can’t do it for you.  Take a walk across the room.  Take that walk across the street.  Across the office.  Across the hallway.  Your steps might end up changing someone’s eternity.  God has secured your eternity with Him through his Son Jesus!  And now He asks: Who Will Go For Us?  Amen.

This sermon contains many thoughts and quotes from Bill Hybels’ “Just Walk Across the Room.”