Too Busy to Fish
Gary Waddell - Victory Ministries Middle Tennessee - 4/20/19
And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. Matt 4:19
And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused. Luke 14:18
Recently I invited four Christian men to evangelize with me on a Saturday at a set location. We hand out a questionnaire which contains six statements regarding the Bible. Under each statement, participants are to choose the correct box. All items are facts and statements about the Bible and about our Lord Jesus Christ. Two of the statements are well known remarks made by Christ (well known to those who read the Bible or listen to His word) and the other statements about God’s word in the Bible. We ask the recipients not to place their name on them as it is not my intention to embarrass anyone. It is simply a 'gauge' to see where folks stand and to develop a rapport with them while we have their attention. Most folks are more than happy to fill them out because of they believe that they know Christ personally. Many times we are asked to explain further and we have the opportunity to tell them about the glorious gospel of Christ. We also give them references and hand out a Bible if needed. We are also "prayed up" before we enter into any kind of a street ministry (1 Thess 5:17) (2 Tim 4:2).
As it happened, None of the men invited showed up for the four (4) hour period to join me at the location which was set up beforehand. This is not unusual as it has happened numerous times before so, and often, I do this alone. Speaking to each of these men individually, I have found that they seemingly know and love the Lord, but have little time to evangelize mostly because of the 'busy-ness' of their lives with their farms, property, businesses, and family matters. Please know I am not comparing myself to them. I have the utmost respect for these men and I believe they are up-right and Godly husbands, however, they are busy men.
When Jesus saw Simon and Andrew fishing, He said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men (Mark 1:17). That means us too!
God’s desire for all of us, men, women and children included, is to be “fishers of men.” Jesus would never have told His disciples to ‘fish for men’ if it were not important. He gave us a parable in Luke 14:18-20 about those invited to a banquet. And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.
If we are too busy to fish, we must ask ourselves, “what is taking up all our time?” It is good for a man to work but it is not good for men to disregard the teachings of Jesus. As a ‘follower of Christ’ we must be able to manage our time and give back to God. We tithe our money, so why not our time? He gave His time to all of us. He gave His time for each of us on the cross and that should say it all ( 1 Cor 15:3-4 ).
One of the statements on the survey asks the question: Just who is this Jesus? Although one of the choices for this statement is "He is God in the flesh", over half of the respondents mark “He is actually Elijah from the Old Testament” or “He is a prophet in the times of Caesar Augustus”. Fifty percent (50%) do not even know that Jesus is God in the Flesh (John 1:1-3). That should be a serious matter. So many are heading to destruction and we have the message in our hearts to stop them and do not use it. We MUST ‘tell ‘em about Jesus’ before it’s too late. Without beating up on the lost, we must warn them and let them know that Jesus is the answer. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth and the life; no man cometh to the Father but by Me (John 14:6). People have to know this!
Christian men and women, let us all pray to God to help us not to be so friendly and busy with the world (Jam 4:4) and to turn our focus on our next home, heaven. James 4:8 tells us to draw nigh to God and He will draw nigh to us. That verse also speaks of purifying ourselves. We belong to Christ and that should be our focus above all other. Let us go and spread the gospel of Christ to everyone (Mark 16:15) that will hear. And even to those who plug their ears and turn away their heads. They may hear it eventually. So pack up your ‘fishing gear’, the Bible for one, and let’s go fishing! We are to be "fishers of men" (that includes men, women, and children). Let us NOT be too busy to Fish.
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Thanks for "Taking 5" - Gary Waddell - Victory Ministries Middle Tennessee
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