Sermon at Grace Episcopal on by Lynette

GOING FISHING John 21:1-19

After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he revealed himself in this way. Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We will go with you." They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, "Children, do you have any fish?" They answered him, "No." He said to them, "Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some." So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish. That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea. The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards off. When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish that you have just caught." So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them. And although there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast." Now none of the disciples dared ask him, "Who are you?" They knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead. When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." He said to him, "Feed my lambs." He said to him a second time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." He said to him, "Tend my sheep." He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, "Do you love me?" and he said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go." (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, "Follow me."

I remember as a child going fishing sitting on the edge of Lake Wilson in Wahiawa with my dad and our bamboo poles. We would bait our hooks and throw our lines in the water below. It didn't matter too much to us whether we caught anything or not. We sure did enjoy sitting there "going through the motions."

When we go fishing, most of us plan on catching something. But the bumper sticker "The worst day fishing is better than the best day working" reminds us that even if you don't catch anything, there's nothing nicer than sitting in the warmth of the sun, watching your line float across the water, just the way God wanted the world to be in the first place. Of course "catching" is always more fun than "fishing."

The show "The Deadliest Catch" shows people fishing for king crabs in ice storms and incredibly dangerous seas. They are focused on catching. Why do they brave the deadly conditions? They suffer hardships because of the reward.

Jesus' last words to His disciples were very similar to His first words to Peter. Anyone remember Jesus' first words to Peter? That's right. He said, "Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." Jesus' last words to His disciples filled in a few details of what it meant to be fishers of men. He said, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

So today I want to talk to you about becoming a fisherman. Whether you fish in sunny seas and calm waters, whether you choose to fish in dangerous conditions, whether you use a throw net or a pole, the reward of fishing for Jesus' will be great. And here is where fishing for Christ is different. Jesus doesn't want to eat you or destroy you. He won't toss you out because you are undersized or the wrong type of fish. Jesus wants you caught so that He can build you, to grow you and bring you into God's kingdom. He doesn't want to surround you with nets. Jesus Christ wants to surround you with love.

But there's another fisherman out there. He uses some very deceptive lures. The devil's lures have pretty feathers, shiny surfaces and may appear good to eat but there is always a hook. And never forget that those he catches he means to throw on a heap to destroy. He is relentless in throwing his lures of temptation in front of us, trying to hook us and drag us away from God. And, we have to be very careful. Some of Satan's lures appear to be good - after all unless there's a feeding frenzy, who would be dumb enough to bite a bare hook?

And Satan lures Christians sometimes by making us self-focused.

Have you noticed that even when we resolve to start every day with prayer or Bible study, our first thoughts in the morning aren't too holy? We wake up overwhelmed and trying to figure out "How am I going to fit all of this into my day? How am I going to get my taxes done, wash my car, pay my bills, clean my house, feed my kids, prepare for the pot luck, and walk the dog all in one day"

That's because Satan wants us to think only about our agenda, not God's. So he tries to distract us from our alone time with the Lord. And if we don't take time to keep our hearts safeguarded and focused, we will start slipping away; inch-by-inch-by-inch. We don't even realize it's happening. Over time, we find that we have simply left Jesus behind, even if the stuff we are doing is "for" God. Sometimes we find we've bitten Satan's hook of being too busy. Do you remember the acronym of being too B*U*S*Y? Being Under Satan's Yoke. In fact, if we find ourselves running around crazy, it is unlikely that we are running for Christ.

Back to fishing Jesus' way. He wants us to do what He's already told us to do. We are to go out and make new disciples.

The church uses all kinds of words, and some of them tend to scare us off, like discipleship. Did you know that when you start a new job, they will have a small period of time when you first start that's set aside so they can "disciple" you? It's a period of time where you are trained to do that job. That's what discipleship means. It means training. Now, when we go fishing for people, it's important that we train them, in the way and knowledge of the Lord.

You may want to know why I jumped to discipleship instead of being more specific about catching people. We have spent years teaching that the way Jesus catches people involves no hooks and no deceptions. He uses love, truthfulness, helpfulness and Godliness. He uses our love, our service for others, and He uses our lives to surround people with His love. Faith, hope and love are bait in the hands of Jesus.

It's like crabbing, Molokai style. When the kids were little we'd go crabbing on the east end of Moloka'i with Papa and Grandma. We'd tie some aku head in the middle of the crab nets, walk out into the ocean and place the nets with a floater on top. Then we waited while the crabs made the choice to take the offering or not. We'd send the kids out to check the nets by slowly raising them up out of the water, collecting the crabs and replacing the nets. You must realize that all we did was "try" to catch crabs. Whether or not we caught, the actual decision came from the crab, not from any of us.

Maybe that is the biggest difference between the Lord and Satan. Christianity is a choice, not a hook.

You don't have to preach. We all know the best sermon is a good example. Winning souls is God's job, not yours. You just have to "try." To share with someone what Jesus Christ has done in your heart and in your life. It doesn't take fancy skills. It takes a heart filled with love for God. If you can simply offer God's love to the people in your daily life in a way that truly helps them with things they're struggling with you'll find people climbing into God's net to receive God's love.

To use a farming example, that's called planting a seed. You will have planted the seed, but you may or may not be the one to water it. You might not even be the one called to cultivate it. You may never know whether that seed ever sprouts, but the important thing is that God will know that you planted it. Or maybe someone else has planted and God uses your love for the watering. And if you are fortunate to harvest a disciple, praise God for those who went ahead of you with the seed, water, and fertilizer. God will know who those people are.

But we all know the best fishermen are people who know the grounds, who know and understand where and how the fish move. The best fishermen prepare because the best fishermen want to catch. They are not interested in just dragging a line, or pulling in an empty net.

One of the best ways to prepare to disciple and draw people to God is to become more familiar with the Bible. You need to actually read the Bible! You can't just carry it under your arm or leave it on the dashboard of your car. Pick up the daily reading schedule and use it. I praise God that Byron Uahinui just finished reading the entire Bible in a year! You can do it too! You don't need to go to seminary. You only need a working knowledge of the Word of God and a willing heart to share His Word. Because the Word of God communicates the heart of the Greatest Fishermen the universe has ever seen.

There is the story of a pastor who went to visit one of the women in the congregation one day, and they soon began to talk about the Bible. The woman told him how much she loved studying the Bible, how it lifted her up when she was troubled and how when she was having a good day she just couldn't get enough. So trying to impress the pastor, she told her six-year old son to get the book that she loved so much. He came back with the catalogue from JC Penney! Whoops.

I understand that most people get a bit scared about PREACHING THE GOSPEL, or evangelism. Those are scary words. And they are good tools for some skilled fishermen. One story I remember is about 2 brothers. One of them came to Christ and burst in to the bedroom and said, "I've found it!" Of course the reply was, "Found what?" "What we've been looking for. It's God!" His brother replied, "You've done a lot of drugs before but now you're on the hard stuff!"

So just begin by praying for your friends and family. Talk to God about them before you talk to them about God. Then simply listen to them. God will give you the heart you need to share.

And if they share about stressors or troubles in their life, just tell them that you have been or will be praying for them. That alone will point them to Jesus. Then, don't be afraid to stop and pray with them right there. You can even pray on the phone with them. And remember, the Lord is doing all the work. You're just the bait.

And you don't have to do it alone. Here at Grace we have taught that we are a hospital for sinners, not a country club for saints. In Hebrews 10:25, it cautions us to "not give up the 'gathering together' as some have done." We're told to gather together and encourage one another.

Discipleship is about daily Bible reading and Sunday worship. But it is also about gathering together to share and help each other grow in the Lord. We pray for each other's concerns, and we share our thanksgivings. And then we even teach each other how to go out and fish for Christ.

When we go fishing for Jesus, we are not just dragging our nets for souls; we are sharing God's love with real people that God really loves. We must not just pretend to befriend them. We need to love them enough to help them. That includes feeding them, helping them acquire the skills for a better job and fixing their roof. But when we help them, we always carry Jesus with us and remind them that He is the source for any goodness and help that they see. It means reminding them that they are never alone because God loves them. It means reminding them that God loves them so much that He sent His only Son to die for them so that they might have eternal life which starts right now.

SO- I am going to stop here. You might think, there is no ending. That is true because discipleship is a never ending process. That means that each of us, each of you IS the ending. We have discipled each other and we are called to continue to go out and make apprentices of Jesus every day. God is at the beginning, but He uses us to write the ending. He uses us as His agents of love and mercy. How cool is that!? Jesus is Lord! Come Lord Jesus!

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