Learning From Fishermen

Have you ever gone on a fishing trip? It is an enjoyable experience for those who are successful in catching fish. Every­body who fishes cannot catch fish. Once while I was waiting for some printing to be done in a small town in Florida, I saw some people sitting on the concrete wall of a canal, fishing. Some caught nothing; others caught min­nows. Soon a man who evidently understood the science of fishing came up and began to fish. In the short time he was there, he caught a great number of large fish. When I left, the others had not caught anything of size at all. On my way home I thought of that ex­perience in connection with fishing for souls for the kingdom of God. Everybody can fish, but it is not everyone who can catch fish. Today many are trying to catch souls for the kingdom of heaven, but not all have success. An evangelist may follow another worker in the same place, where souls have not been won, and win many souls, because he knows the science and secret of soul winning.

Lessons can be learned from successful fishermen which will be a help to those who fish for men. Fishermen do not allow any­body to throw stones into the water, for to do so will frighten away the fish. They know how to bait their hooks to catch the fish. If we have a church in a city where I go to con­duct an evangelistic meeting, and prejudice is very high, I tell the members of the church not to throw stones into the water—that is, not to tell the people that this is a Seventh-day Adventist meeting, for that will frighten many of the people away from the meeting. Of course, the members are told that if they are asked the direct question, "Is this a Seventh-day Adventist meeting?" they are to answer in the affirmative. I never try to hide the identity of the message, but we must be wise, tactful, and skillful these days in order to win souls for the kingdom. A number of people who have taken their stand for this truth have told me that had they known my meeting was a Seventh-day Adventist meeting, they would not have attended because of prejudice.

In fishing for souls, let us think of Jesus' tactful way of reaching the Samaritan woman at the well. Think also of Stephen, who knew of the prejudicial spirit among the Jews toward Christ. While he stood before the high priest and the others, he began his discourse with Abraham their father, and led his listeners up to the point of truth that he wanted them to see and hear. We want people to believe and accept our message, which means salvation to them. The wall of prejudice must be broken down, and their confidence in the message we preach to them must be established. To do this I present subjects that will create an interest at the beginning of my meetings—sub­jects that will lay a good, solid foundation for the cardinal points of our faith.

In my twelve-week meeting, I try to ar­range the subjects so as to gradually lead the people up to truths they should know. My plan is this; During the first three weeks. I present the subjects that come under the topics, Man's Spiritual Needs," "The Origin of Satan and Sin," and "The Christ of the Bible," and "God's Plan to Save Man From Sin," Through the subjects that come under these topics, I endeavor to help the people to see man's spiritual condition as heaven sees it. I point out that God is not responsible for the existence of Satan and sin, and explain how man separated himself from God through sin, and how, through Jesus Christ, man, who confesses and forsakes his sins, and accepts Christ as his personal Saviour, will be brought back into the society of heaven.

The topics for the second three weeks are on the second coming of Christ, the signs of His coming, the home of the redeemed, the Bible prophecies, and the law of God. Hav­ing brought my audience up to see that Jesus Christ, who died on the cross to save men from sin, is the Son of God, in the beginning of the second three weeks, I present the sub­jects that come under the topics I have just mentioned. The fact that Jesus has gone to heaven to prepare a place for the redeemed, and that He will come back to receive them and take them to heaven, is brought to their attention. I urge them to get ready for this momentous event.

At the end of six weeks my audience is ready to hear the Sabbath question, which is presented on the Sunday night that begins the seventh week. Then all related subjects are presented. Before the presentation of the Sabbath question, I do not preach on the state of the dead, hell, spiritism, or the de­struction of the wicked. I like to preach on these subjects after I have preached the Sab­bath question, for it helps to hold the at­tendance. On the seventh or eighth Sabbath, I hold the first Sabbath meeting under the tent. Besides holding the Sabbath school and preaching service, a Bible class is conducted in the afternoon.

In connection with my preaching, I use stereopticon pictures, but not at the same time I am preaching. For while I am presenting the subject, I like to look into the faces of my hearers. The pictures are used to sum up what has been presented. Thirty or thirty-five minutes are used for the sermon, and ten or fifteen minutes for the pictures.

May the Lord bless our methods and plans in fishing for souls. May we faithfully carry out the divine injunction, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men."