INTRODUCTION:

How many of you like to fish? Bass fishing used to be one of my passions. There's nothing quite like the feel of a bass fighting on the end of a line. I'll never forget one fish I caught. I'd bought a brand new rod and reel. I'd been drooling over a particular fiberglass rod and this sweet little reel for quite some time. I finely gave into temptation and bought them.

That night I cleaned out my tackle box and got ready for the next time I had an opportunity to go fishing. I knew right where I wanted to try that baby out too. As I was going through the tackle box I found all these bits and pieces of old lures and crank baits. I'd just read an article about making your own lures, so I threw some of those pieces together and made my own special lure. It was an ugly thing and I had no idea if it would catch anything.

About three days later I was finally able to get away to try out this new rod and reel. I'd made arrangements to fish this one tank. I loaded everything into the little john boat this guy had and rowed out to the spot I had picked out. There on the back was a huge willow tree. It drooped over the water and just at the waters edge, there was about a three foot hole. It looked like a small cave. I just knew there would be at least one bass there but I'd never cast into it because I didn't want to lose any lures. Willow trees are close cousins to Charlie Brown's kite eating tree and I'd lost plenty of lures in their branches. I knew this one had its mouth open waiting for me to feed it.

But then I remembered that ugly, homemade lure. It was nothing but parts thrown together so it could easily be sacrificed. So there I was, a brand new rod and reel and a brand new lure. I can still see it in my mind like it was recorded for TV. It was something beautiful, something that would have been worthy of Bill Dance or one of the TV fishing shows.

It was a perfect cast. The lure sailed through the air and landed right smack in the center of that opening under the willow tree. And no sooner had the lure hit the water than the water exploded. A black bass boiled up and grabbed that lure. And then off he took. He dove down and swam to the right. A few seconds later he surfaced, danced on his tail trying to get loose and then dove again. He did that two or three times. It was beautiful. And each time I was slowing bringing him in.

That was one of the prettiest 6 ½ pound basses I've ever caught. I never caught another thing with that lure but I'll never forget that moment.

Peter, James, John and Andrew were all fishermen. I'll bet they had more fish stories than you and I combined. They're probably the ones who started the story of the one armed fisherman who caught one this big.

Let's look at the passage for today from Mark 1:14-20.

[14] Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God,

[15] and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news."

[16] As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea--for they were fishermen.

[17] And Jesus said to them, "Follow me and I will make you fish for people."

[18] And immediately they left their nets and followed him.

[19] As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets.

[20] Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him. [NRSV]

Jesus calls us to "Fish For People" too. In order to be "Fishers of People we have to PREPARE THE VESSEL, USE THE RIGHT TACKLE, AND THEN GO FISHING.

I. PREPARE THE VESSEL:

A. When you go fishing, especially if you have a bass boat, you have to get it ready. It has to be fueled up. You have to have all your equipment in place. You have to have life jackets for everyone whose going with you. You have to make sure you have an anchor. And you have to make sure all your gear is working properly.

When President Grover Cleveland's second child was born, the doctor asked Cleveland for a scale to determine the baby's weight. Cleveland searched through the house without success. But finally, he remembered that he had an old scale in the basement which he always used on his fishing trips. He got it and brought it upstairs. Carefully, the doctor placed the infant on the scale and was amazed to learn that the newborn weighed 25 pounds. (1)

You can make all the preparations you want but if your equipment isn't functioning correctly you won't get very far, especially if it's your outboard motor.

B. We have to get ourselves ready as well when we go fishing for people. We have to be fueled up with the presence of Christ and the Power of God's Holy Spirit. We have to make sure we are firmly anchored in Christ.

Years ago I remember reading about a particularly huge stone in a Greek or Roman harbors it was called an "Anchoria". The purpose of this stone was simple. A vessel caught in a storm or trying to come into the harbor against the wind was unable to safely navigate into that harbor. However, they could send a small boat with a rope and tie off to the anchor stone. Then the vessel could slowly and surely pull itself into safe harbor. But only after it had tied itself to the anchor stone.

Jesus is our anchor stone. We tie ourselves to Him through the profession of our faith and through prayer and worship.

And we have to make sure we have the right equipment.

II. USING THE RIGHT TACKLE:

One of the most important aspects of fishing is knowing what bait to use. You don't use the same bait to catch Crappie as you do Bass or Catfish. So you've got to have a variety of tackle. The same is true in "Fishing for People."

Tackle is used to lure the fish onto the hook. In a similar way, the tackle we use, the Fruits of the Spirit lure others into a relationship with God. And by lure I mean in a wooing sort of sense. Like a young person woos the person they're in love with. Like the work of God's Holy Spirit in Prevenient Grace wooing us into a relationship with God.

There's certain tackle that won't work. But the proven tackle of the Christian is the tackle that God gave us to use, the Fruit of the Spirit described in Galatians 5:22-23: "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things." Paul says. [NRSV]

We have to be intentional about the use of these gifts. These are the gifts that others want to see displayed to see whether we believe what we say we believe and live those beliefs.

A. LOVE: Jesus said this was the most essential peace of tackle in the box. This is the one He exhibited everywhere He went. It was the driving factor for His trip to the cross for our sakes. In Luke 10:27 Jesus told us: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself." [NRSV]

And in Romans 12:9 Paul says: "Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good." [NRSV] Love is the most important piece of tackle, the most important lure we have because a lot of people have never experienced true unconditional love before. And we know where it can be found.

B. JOY: The second most important piece of tackle in the our tackle box is JOY. In my opinion, the worst Christian witness is a long-faced sour Christian. Psalm 68:3 says: "let the righteous be joyful; let them exult before God; let them be jubilant with joy." [NRSV]

Paul said in Romans 14:17 "For the kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." [NRSV]

I like what Mario Murillo said in Fresh Fire: "The joy of the Lord is a force field that insulates against the destructive, draining spirit of this age. A layer of love keeps the infection of despair off us." (2)

joy is born of love, love for God, love for neighbor and the deep knowledge of God's love for us.

C. PEACE: The Third piece of tackle is PEACE. John 14:27 Jesus said: "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid." [NRSV]

In Romans 15:13 Paul says "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." [NRSV]

Joy and peace together bring hope through the power of Holy Spirit. And we need hope. WE need that peace. Especially when the storms of life arise. In the midst of those storms we find peace. The Lord will either calm our storm, or allow the storm to rage around us while He calms us.

People are looking for that inner peace that will get them through the storms of life. They're looking for the peace that comes from being anchored to the rock.

D. PATIENCE: I'll be honest, I've learned more than I've ever wanted to learn about patience these last couple of months. I've learned that I don't have nearly have enough. Or if I do have enough, I've misplaced it, covered it up or forgotten how to use it. For that I apologize to you and to God.

Someone once said: "Anyone can act like a Christian... it takes a true Christian to RE-ACT like one." (3) Hebrews 10:36 says: "For you need endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised." [NRSV]

Lack of Patience isn't a very good witness.

E. KINDNESS: We all learned from Mary Poppins that a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down, right? That spoonful of sugar idea is appropriate for living out and sharing the faith. There is a certain amount of personal joy that comes from being kind. And an even greater amount from having something kind happen to us. In Galatians 6:10 Paul writes: "So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith." [NRSV]

Old Scrooge found out just how tasty the milk of human kindness could taste. Let KINDNESS be one of the major lures in your Tackle Box.

F. GENEROSITY: Then there's the lure of GENEROSITY. We're not necessarily talking bout money, though being generous with the monetary gifts God has given us is important having a generous nature is more important. A generous nature can be summed of like this: "A generous friend or neighbor is one who watches your vacation slides all evening and never mentions that he has been there too." (4)

In Luke 6:38 Jesus said: "Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back." [NRSV] Use the lure of GENEROSITY often.

G. FAITHFULNESS: In Matthew 24:46 Jesus says; "Blessed is that slave whom his master will find at work when he arrives." [NRSV] and in Luke 11:28 He said, "Blessed are those who hear the word of God and obey it!" [NRSV]

This is the one thing that we are most harshly judged on by those outside the Church. And rightly so. Are we faithful to the principles and beliefs that we say are central to who we follow?

Mary Kay Ash once said: "God doesn't ask your ability or your inability; only your availability." FAITHFULNESS is being available.

H. GENTLENESS: The next piece of tackle is GENTLENESS. "The three year old granddaughter of a distinguished professor at the University of Chicago liked to visit him late in the afternoon so she could walk home with him. One day the preschooler asked to ride on her grandpa's shoulders across the campus. That day, another professor, with a twinkle in his eye when he saw them said: "My goodness, how you've grown! You are about three times as tall as you were last week."

The little girl replied: "Not all of this is me."

That's so true of all of us. Any success we have, any joy we have, any riches or glory or whatever isn't just ours alone. God is the author and others have been helpers. The person with a GENTLE spirit or HUMBLE spirit knows that. In Matthew 11:29 Jesus said: "Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." [NRSV] GENTLENESS is born from a HUMBLE heart.

I. SELF-CONTROL: And finally there is the Lure of SELF-CONTROL. Self control leads to happiness. Psalm 119:1 says: "Happy are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord." [NRSV] SELF-CONTROL is simply remembering who you are and Whose you are at all times. SELF-CONTROL is exhibiting the Christians graces and fruits of the Spirit in all we do.

That's the TACKLE BOX we need. It's filled with the lures of the Fruit of the Spirit: "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control."

III. LET'S GO FISHING:

A. Well, the Vessel's ready. The Tackle Box is full. What are we waiting for? LET'S GO FISHING. That's our call. That's our purpose. There was a church that was so evangelistic that they started serving special cookies in their nursery and preschool classes. They called them Billy Graham Crackers.

We don't have to be Billy Graham or even serve Billy Graham Cracker. A we really have to do is take our call seriously. God want us to live our faith in such a way that it invites others.

B. A church youth group was raising money to go on a ski trip and decided to have a car wash. The morning was great. They stayed busy and were raising lots of money. But to their dismay, in the mid-afternoon it started to rain and the customers stopped coming. Finally one of the youth made a big poster that read: "WE WASH," (and with an arrow pointed skyward) "HE RINSES!" Business was soon booming once again.

This is the only place in the world that always practices catch and release. We're caught like fish. But we're never skinned, filleted and fried. Instead we're cleaned up and released back into the waters of this world with instructions to lead others back to the one who cleaned us up.

CONCLUSION:

We're called to be fishers of people. Jesus said, "Follow me and I will make you fish for people."

Most people in our world are more like jellyfish then they are fish. Most folks go with the flow of the tide like jellyfish. They do not direct their own course. They follow the whims of fashion, TV, movies, music and society. Sometimes the currents of the sea wash them out into deep waters. Sometimes the currents of the sea slap them down on the beach. When that happens, they melt in the sun on the sand. Later they disappear altogether. The jelly dries and no trace is left. The tide goes out, the wind moans softly, and no one notices.

We have to be the ones who notice. We have to be the ones who reach out. We've been cleaned up and given new life through Christ so that we can point the way to the Anchor Stone in the Safe Harbor. We're called to be available to be used by the Master Fisherman, Jesus. He's already filled our Tackle Boxes. All we have to do is go fishing.

We know people whose lives are floundering. We know people who are perched on the brink of destruction. We know people who have a whale of load of guilt that needs to be gotten rid of. We know people and we're called to be Fishers of People. Cast Your Nets. Live out the Fruits of the Spirit. Let it be the Tackle in you Tackle Box.

Grab your Tackle Box, The Vessel is Ready, Let's Go Fishing.

1. Parables, Etc. (Saratoga Press, P.O. Box 8, Platteville, CO, 80651; 970-785-2990), April 1985 2. Parables, Etc. (Saratoga Press, P.O. Box 8, Platteville, CO, 80651; 970-785-2990), July 2000 3. The Pastor's Story File (Saratoga Press, P.O. Box 8, Platteville, CO, 80651; 970-785-2990), August 2001 4. The Pastor's Story File (Saratoga Press, P.O. Box 8, Platteville, CO, 80651; 970-785-2990), February 2002 5. The Pastor's Story File (Saratoga Press, P.O. Box 8, Platteville, CO, 80651; 970-785-2990), November 1999

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Lectionary Homiletics, (Lectionary Homiletics, Inc. Midlothian, VA)

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Preaching Magazine (Preaching Resources, Jackson, TN)

Circuit Rider, (The United Methodist Publishing House, Nashville, TN)

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The New Interpreter's Bible, (Abingdon Press, Nashville, 1995)

Lectionary Preaching Workbook, Cycle A, (CSS Publishing, Lima, OH, 2002) SermonPrep Version.

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