Fishers of Men: Courage and Faith

Remember* we are taking a look at the character traits of fishermen and how they apply to our spiritual lives. We, as Christians, are called to be fishers of men–a witness for Christ and to share the Gospel with others.  

*If you’re new to the series, start here. 🙂

Our words are not our only witnessing tool. I would submit to you that what people see in you can be more powerful than your words. 

What do I mean by that?

Your testimony matters. Are you living in such a way that would draw others to Christ? We’ll come back to that question later.

Take a few minutes to read John 21:1-17 again. 

As we discussed last time (Part 2), these experienced fishermen attempted to return to normal, to go back to what was familiar. But this time, they caught nothing (vs. 3). Absolutely nothing. Their efforts were in vain–without Christ. 

Jesus says in verse six, “Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find.” They immediately obeyed. No hesitation. The LORD blessed and they caught a multitude of fishes. 153!

From nothing to 153. What was the difference? Jesus.

Let’s consider those qualities of fishermen again. We’ve already discussed that they had to be hard working. They also have to be courageous and have faith. Their job takes them into deep and dangerous waters. Storms on the open sea can be life threatening. Fishermen demonstrate courage by going back again and again. They also have faith that the catch will be there. If they work hard enough, find the right spot, stay out long enough, it will be profitable for them.  

The disciples had to demonstrate courage and faith to obey Jesus. They could have responded in pride–they were experienced fishermen, after all. They knew what they were doing. They also could have responded by settling for defeat–not expecting any difference in the outcome. Instead, they willingly cast their net in on the other side.

By the way, there was nothing wrong with their net. 

There’s nothing wrong with our net – the Gospel – either. We have the Good News! “…Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: (I Corinthians 15:3b-4).

When we get saved, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1). We are sealed with the Holy Spirit–the earnest (promise) of our inheritance–who comforts us, guides us, and teaches us (John 14). We have access to our Heavenly Father and can come boldly to the throne of grace to obtain mercy and help in our time of need (Hebrews 4:16). We have an unshakeable hope in our eternal home in heaven!

The Gospel is life-changing. Has it changed you?

Remember when I asked if you were living in such a way that would draw others to Christ? Can they see Him in you? Your words, actions, attitudes, and responses?

Some of us would say, of course! We seem to have it all put together on the outside. We look “good,” sound “good,” and try to do “good.” The problem can be that we begin to rely on our “goodness”–quotes because the Bible tells us there is none that doeth good (Romans 3:10-12)–instead of on the LORD. If we aren’t careful we can get judgmental and critical of those who aren’t like me–whether they are lost or just have different standards than we do. We must see others as Jesus sees them…souls in need of salvation or as a saved person He is actively conforming to the image of His Son. 

Do we really take the time to “see” people as Jesus does?

If we did…it would cause us to be a fisher of men in both our words and our everyday life. Being a witness takes courage. It often requires us to get outside our comfort zones. It can feel awkward and uncomfortable. In this day and age, we may even face ridicule and mockery. But if we see people as Jesus does, our love for them would cause us to do everything we could to point others to Jesus Christ. 

Being a fisher of men also takes faith. We have to keep witnessing even when we aren’t seeing immediate results. We have to continue the work–whether we get the “catch” or not. We do our part–witnessing in word and through our daily walk–and leave the rest up to the LORD. 

And we absolutely CANNOT “catch” anything apart from the LORD. We need to pray and ask the LORD to burden our hearts for the lost, ask for the courage to be a bold witness, and then have faith the LORD will work. He does the “saving” – not us.

But those character traits – faith and courage – don’t just apply to the area of witnessing. 

In our Christian life, there will be times when the LORD gives us direction and we have to step out by faith. We have to have courage to follow the LORD not knowing the outcome. 

Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

It is easy to say we are trusting in the LORD…but more difficult to do it with all our heart. We tend to rely on our own understanding, the things we know and can see. Sometimes we get stuck by indecision because we aren’t sure of God’s will. Instead, we have to seek the LORD and trust Him. He promises to direct our paths–but we may be able to see only one step at a time. We must have faith and courage to keep moving forward with God one step at a time.

Imagine that as you take a step forward, God will illuminate the next step. And then the next step.

Just as our fishermen were only one more toss of the net from a great multitude of fish, we are just one more step from successfully following God’s plan for our lives–so long as we allow Jesus to give the orders.