every real fisherman finds fishing a labor. For this reason and because it is often hard, tiresome and unsuccessful work, many people do not care for it. You must love the lost' souls of men or you will never be one of Christ's true followers. If you are not catching men it is because you do noi have the love of Christ in any. large measure in your heart. Ponder this carefully, for it must be true. His love never changes. He loved and loves the lost. His love developed in you will compel you to love them. (3) Equipment. A fisherman needs the boat, bait, net, tackle, according to the kind of fish and place of fishing. We need to have the bait of the Bible. Some portions will do for some men, others for other men. Some will be hooked easily and quickly. Some will have to be played for a long time. There are many kinds of hooks and lines and rods. Fishing is an art. There is always something new to be learned about the business. Patience —No one will make a fisherman without this qualification. The .wind is wrong one day—water too rough the next—weather too cold the next—but keep at it. Let patience have her perfect work. Per- severance —Sometimes men have fished season after season for a certain fish.. Often men have failed repeatedly with certain tackle—keep on—try again— keep on trying. What has been done can be done. What ought to be done must be done, and you must do it. You are called by your Lord to do it. Courage —It will take courage to tackle some kinds of fish—be brave—life is full of hard things. To testify, to talk personally to people—to tell the story in public, whichever it may be, will call for a courageous heart. Finally Faith —You must believe that men can be eaught. You must have confidence in your call and in Him who has called you. You must go where the fish are. You will not find many of them in the church, but in the school, in the home, in the shop and office, on the street car, in the daily occupation. The creeks and rivers and seas are full. In your own neighborhood, in the city; in the outlying districts, in the regions be- yond, they swarm, there are multitudes. This is a call for abdication —deny yourself—surrender a.11—leave all—give up the dearest project—forsake all and follow always. A call to activity— catching men—getting at it—commenc- ing—doing it now—today—at once. A call to assertion. Announce yourself a
Elijah (Matt. 4:1). "Follow m e " means, come behind me. First He says unto men, "Come unto Me ." They come for rest (Matt. 11:28). Then He wants them to come with Him for serv- ice. Whoso follows Him shall not walk in darkness (John 8:12). He goes be- fore as a shepherd and they follow (John 10:4). " I f any man serve Me, let him jfollow Me (John 12:26) and him will my Father honor." Many fol- • low Him without serving Him. Multi- tudes followed Him because they saw the miracles which He did (John 6:2). Over and over again the Gospel tells us that multitudes followed Him crowd- ing upon Him, yet He had but few real, true, dependent followers. Fishers of Men —"Follow Me and I will make you fishers." The call is clear, the service is specific. They had fished in the waters of -the sea; now they were to fish in the sea of the world. They were to turn from the old to the new—they were to take men alive. The call was to an unselfish life. They were to find the other man. As the Lord had sought them and found them and bade them to follow, as Paul .did who said, " Be ye followers of me even as I also am of Christ" (1 Cor. 11:1). Their call was to a helpful life. The waters of the world were full of men, and they needed so much to know of the rest that was to be found in Him. They were to be rewarded. They should take men and men should constitute jewels in their crown (1 Thess.- 2:20). It was a divine call to duty, a following in fellowship with their Lord, in a serv- ice of sorrow and suffering, demanding self-sacrifice and self-abasement; but it wis to be a holy, helpful work in the dcjing of which their own souls were to 1 bq enlarged and enriched and their Mas- ter honored. [Catching Men —In Luke 5:12 it reads "Ithou shalt catch men." The most wjmderful work in the whole world is filhing for men. A careful study will slow that the essentials needed in fish- irlg for fish correspond exactly to those ni eded in soul saving. Here are a few the requirements: J ( 1) Knowledge. To know the char- I teristics of the fish, their haunts and ••bits of life. This can only be acquired ' study. So we must know men. There I e three sources of knowledge in the ludv of men. Yourself, your fellow, e Word of God. The Bible perfectly ilineates the character of mankind. J (2) Love for the Work. Fishing is •n! ork. It is often a recreation, but il 1
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