Life Lessons From Fishing

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Welcome to Truth Talk Live. I've got a question for you today. What are some life lessons? you have learned while fishing. What are some life lessons that you have learned while fishing?

I'm Dwayne Carson, ministries called Date the Word. I get to be a co-host here with Truth Talk Live, and I'm literally just getting back to Winston-Salem from four days of fishing on the James River. And yesterday morning for Father's Day, did a special Father's Day service at the James River, not on at, because I don't walk on water, but at the James River in Stapleton, Virginia, where I had been fishing. And my cousin had asked me if I would do a special message on lessons we can learn from fishing.

So today, when given the opportunity to do this show, I thought we'd talk about some lessons. that can be learned from fishing. And uh I would love to hear your thoughts. 866-348-7884. Think about those times when you've been fishing and what were some of the lessons that you learned That helps you with life, help you with your spiritual life, if we will go to that level, our spiritual life.

And as I sat on the riverbank on Thursday morning, Thursday night, I'm looking at uh Few poles. I don't fish with just one pole, but I'm fishing for catfish. I'll usually have four poles, four lines in the river, and all in different directions, trying to give myself opportunity. And as I was looking and thinking and meditating on What are some of the most important lessons That I've ever gotten from fishing, I could not get away from This thought. For me to be successful at fishing I needed to stay alert.

Stay alert. And you know, that's one of the big words in the Bible. about how we're supposed to be living our lives. We're supposed to be alert that the Lord is coming back. We need to be alert because we listen.

We have an enemy, and we're supposed to be staying alert because while we may be fishing for something. Uh the very thing we're trying to catch might Catch Us. We got to be so careful. 1 Peter 5:8, I brought this out yesterday. Peter says, be alert.

Stay alert. Uh the enemy, the devil. It's like a roaring lion seeking to devour you. He wants to destroy you. And while I'm sitting there on the riverbank looking at these fishing poles.

Thinking about the component that I need to be alert to catch the fish, okay? Catch the fish. I also spiritually need to be thinking about the fact that Just like I baited the hook. I baited the hook.

so that I could catch a fish. uh Satan our flesh There's a word. We find ourselves being enticed. That Greek word for enticed out of James chapter 1, verse 14, to be enticed is to bait the hook. And I need to be alert.

That Satan is seeking to cause things to look so appealing. Looks so good, and then all of a sudden I find myself. Hooked. Uh I find myself addicted. I find myself Not able to do the things I once wanted to do because I am now being bound by some sin.

And and and If I'm not alert. to the enticements of the devil If I'm not alert. to the enticements of this world. If I'm not alert to the very enticements of my own flesh, listen. I'm going to be going after things that will destroy me, devour me.

Just like with me, as I caught these fish, some of those fish are no longer in the river. They are now, some of them have already been eaten.

Some of them have already been fried up in a frying pan. Others have been put in a freezer. I used Very good bait. This is my tip for if you're fishing for catfish, use. Garlic scented night crawlers.

I'm telling you, it will draw that catfish in. And I had a blast over the past four days. Hey, we've got Dan Davis from Appomattox, Virginia, just outside of Lynchburg. And Dan, welcome to the show. Hey Dwayne, thanks for having me on.

Yes, sir. I know something about you. You love to preach, you love to garden, and you love to fish.

So As I've been talking about fishing life lessons right off the bat. Stay alert because of the enticements of the devil, how he baits his hook. Give me some thoughts. When you go fishing, what have you been thinking about life lessons you've learned while fishing? Sure.

There's so many lessons that connect, I think, from fishing to life and then certainly to our spiritual life and our walk with Christ. You're taking that word a minute. I mean, that is the whole The whole game in fishing is the whole idea that you want to figure a way to entice that fish. To take a hook that he doesn't want in his mouth in his mouth. And so, whether you use bait or lure, you're trying to do something to entice.

Place that fish and Why do you think they call it a lure? L-U-R-E, why would they call it a lure? It has something to do with attraction, doesn't it? Yeah. Satan loves to lure us away from the Lord, doesn't he?

He sure does. It won't stay those hooks in us. You know, you know, and I think you know, it doesn't often take just one, but he wants to get more than one in us. You know, when you hook a fish. When you hook a fish, you take that fish from where it is to somewhere it doesn't want to go.

I caught you saying that some of those fish you caught are Already been consumed or in the freezer, and they didn't want to go there, I'm imagining. And, you know, Satan wants to take us places that maybe we think we want to go, but we really don't want to go. And he would love to take us in the place. I heard someone say, sin will take you further than you want to go. cost you more than you want to pay.

And keep you longer than you want to stay Absolutely. Yeah, yeah. And Satan wants to get those hooks in us, and he wants to pull us away from the Lord. He wants to pull us away from our purpose, pull us away from our peace. uh he he wants to destroy us.

And so, yep.

So this idea of staying alert Um How might we go about staying alert? Uh what's going to cause us to uh realize There is a hook. I heard the phrase: look for the hook. How do I? I like that.

What do you what are some things you've done to stay alert to the attacks of the enemy? Sure. Well, and I think here's the connection with fishing: you know, that paying attention is so important when you're fishing because you're paying attention to the water, to the temperature, to the maybe seeing where the bait is or fish moving or something happens. And the more you pay attention, the more you're aware of what's going on. And I think, you know, when it comes to our spiritual walk and avoiding Satan's lures and avoiding The hooks that he wants to get into is we need to pay attention to the.

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Welcome back to Truth Talk Live. We dove in today to the question. What are some life lessons one can learn from fishing. Um, I just got back from a little fishing trip in Virginia. I sure wish I had more time.

I enjoy fishing, I find fishing to be relaxing, I find it to be fun, but I also find it's one of those activities that can teach me a lot about my spiritual life. And I'm just curious if you've got a Are you ready? A fishing story? About how a f Fishing has helped You with some of the ways you live your life. Eight six six.

Three, four, eight. Seven eight eight four. We'd love to hear your stories. We were Really love to hear your stories. And um All you got to do is call 866-348-7884.

I've got Dan Davis. He's a pastor up in Appomattox, Virginia, Reedy Spring Baptist. It's a great church there. He's also a He loves to fish. And loves to catch bayas, probably more than catfish.

I'm more, I like to catch catfish. And so Dan has called in, joining me here to talk about some life lessons. And, guys, right off the bat, one of the things we're bringing out is how important it is to stay alert. Peter tells us to be alert. It's not a fish after us.

It's a devil. It's a roaring lion. That's the picture Peter gives. And he wants to devour us. We've got to be on the guard, on the alert.

And as we went to break, Dan was talking about some of the things we have to be doing. And Dan, I think one of the things you were bringing out is we've got to be aware of our surroundings, of our location. I think I've got myself into some trouble before because I was with the wrong people. in the wrong place at the wrong time. We need to be alert to those things.

Your thoughts? Just like we need to be alert when we're fishing, we need to be alert that, yeah, what's going to be. what is impacting me? How might is Satan want to use? Maybe it's music, maybe it's the entertainment that I'm looking at, maybe it's the things I'm looking at on the Internet.

Where is Satan possibly trying where am I maybe not paying attention Yeah. Dan, do you do you? You're you're you're breaking up on us. Is your um Okay.

Okay. Can you hear me now? Better. Yes. We might be able to do a commercial on that sometime for some.

Um cell phone. Um I can hear you. Keep talking to us. Yeah, so We need to be paying attention to those areas that Satan might be wanting to distract us in or get his hooks into us. And it might seem subtle, it might seem innocent at first.

And so paying attention. And then I think The other side of that is paying attention to God's word, right? Because that's what's going to give us the wisdom and the spiritual insight to recognize interpret. What we're seeing, right?

So, how do I know what I'm saying? How do I know if it's dangerous? How do I know if it's not good? How do I know it's Satan? How do I know those things?

I need to know God's word.

So I need to be paying attention to the word of God. Yeah, the Word of God gives us wisdom to what's right, to what's wrong, so that we can see past. I think it was Jay Strach that made the statement, all that glitters is not gold. And you know, when you're fishing for a bass, you've got those things that are shiny. You're trying to attract them, lure them in.

Well, the devil does the same thing, and all of a sudden, while you know, we need to have money.

so that we can make a living, money to give, all of a sudden money can get hooks in us. And um And it begins to control us. We move from just earning a living to now becoming greedy. We have to have. We can find ourselves even being tempted to steal.

I want to have more, and I'll get it any way I can. That's just one of the thoughts I thought of as I sat on the riverbank: things that lure me away from my purpose. Dan, let's go the other direction for a moment. There's a side where we've got to be careful of the enticement. But you know, when we're fishing, It's a picture that's given in the Bible of us as being fishers of men.

We go from being a fisher of fish to fishers of men. Peter and James, John, Andrew, they were fishermen. And Jesus said, I will make you fishers of men.

Well, To be fishers of a men also means that we need to be alert. Alert to opportunities. to witness And uh I I think sometimes Uh I've missed Catching fish Because I was distracted with other things. I wasn't watching the poll like I should have. I may have gotten into a conversation with somebody, and I'm not focused on here's why I'm here.

And you know, one of the biggest reasons you and I are still on planet Earth and not in heaven is so that we can be God's ambassadors to this world. And I think when we talk about being alert, Every day we should get up with the thought Uh there's gonna be a divine appointment today. That God's going to set up for us. to share our Save your story. Um But you know, sometimes those divine appointments come across as divine interruptions.

I don't know if you've ever had that experience, Dan. Oh, absolutely. And at first, you think, wow, I don't have time for this. I didn't plan for this. Like, why do they want to talk?

Yeah, right. Yeah, I think we've all been there.

Sometimes it's realized like God might be in that, and he's wanting us to pay attention to. who's put in front of us the opportunity that's right right there. Um I think about the Apostle Paul, Dan. Uh he ended up in jail. Went to a Roman prison.

Now this guy, he's a Roman citizen. He had started the church in Philippi and the Philippians They wanted to help him out. Epaphroditus came to see him. He ministered to his needs. They sent him some financial aid.

But there's a question. Paul, if you're as a Christian, Finding yourself in jail, we're not really understanding. What's going on with the Christian life? And Paul makes this incredible statement. Philippians 1.12 The things that have happened to me have happened for the furtherance of the gospel.

Paul was alert. To witnessing opportunities in difficult circumstances. And I have been so challenged by that because, again, you run out of gas, dumb decision on my part, but I run out of gay ass, but that became a witnessing opportunity. I end up in the hospital with prostate cancer.

Well, guess what that just opened the door for? To be a witness to doctors, nurses, to aides. There's so many different things that happen in our lives. That God is orchestrating, but we have to be alert, just like sitting there on that riverbank looking at poles. paying attention because the slightest movement is an indicator that there's a fish to be caught.

And I think if we had a mindset of witnessing That said every day, I'm going to be alert. Is that store clerk? Is my neighbor? Is the person dropping off the dry cleaning? Is the Amazon driver?

Is that the person from FedEx as they drop off a package? Is that an opportunity for me to share Christ? Um so we we've got to be alert. uh to these opportunities because Uh Dan. Have you ever had that opportunity to catch a fish.

And all of a sudden it was gone. And that opportunity to witness sometimes comes and goes so quickly. Hey, we're going to be going to a break. We want your calls: 866-348-7884. What are some lessons you've learned from fishing that helps your spiritual life?

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Yousuf is offering several free resources for you. You can learn more at ltw.org. Welcome back to Trick Talk Live. We are talking today about life lessons from fishing. John twenty-one three.

Um if you Uh want to put your Bible into practice. John 21, 3, Peter says, I am going fishing.

Now, I might be taking this a little out of context, but I think every now and then I have to just look at the Bible and say, okay. To my wife. My friends I'm going to do what God's word says. I am going fishing. And so.

I'll take off based on John 21:3. And you may not know that verse, but I want you guys to get to know it because fishing is so much fun. And it's just a joy to be out there. And now today, it's time to learn some lessons from it. And you know, Jesus took his disciples who were fishers and made them fishers of men.

And while we need to be alert, to the enticements that the devil may throw at us. We need to be alert to what God's doing. And Dan Davis, fisherman from Virginia, Dan, talk to us about some thoughts you're having as we think about. Life lessons. You just text me something.

Yeah, what do you think? Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, as we were talking, the thought really came to mind. About the word intention. We don't, you know, and we were talking last week, or last segment, last week, last segment about.

Paying attention and being alert to the opportunities that God puts in front of us. And I really like what you said about waking up each day with an expectation that God's going to put someone in our path to share the gospel with, to encourage, to share. Share his love with to minister to. And that got me thinking about the word intention. Because I've gone fishing many times in my life, I'm sure hundreds of times.

Probably more than that. And I've never gone fishing accidentally. Right, I mean, it may have been last minute, but there's always a plan. Like, I'm gonna go, like you just said, I'm going to go fishing. I made a decision, I made a choice.

And I probably did some preparation. I planned where I was going to go. I planned what tackle I was going to use, what bait I was going to use. And I was intentional about going fishing. And I think in our in our spirits you know, I really loved what you said, Dwayne, last segment about The reason we're still on earth is because God has a purpose for our lives, a plan for our lives.

And that plan is to make disciples. And to do that, we need to make Jesus known. And that's why we're here. And it really did convict me to say how intentional am I being each day about that. And it's easy, even being a pastor and doing ministry and preparing sermons and ministering to people and planning events and trips and all those things, and they're all great.

But Even in the middle of that, we can lose the intention of just being present to what God has for us each day. Uh and and planning and preparing Be used by him. You know, this morning I got up early and um the only way I got to the riverbank Was what you just said. I had to be intentional. I had to, all right, we're going to get up early.

Um the other morning. I left. And um My intention of going fishing Was interrupted because of a lack of preparation. I uh I failed to pick up my container with the worms. And you know what?

Fish don't bite hooks. They bite bait. And you know, when we're being intentional on witnessing, I'm reminded of uh Titus chapter two, verse ten. Where it says we're to adorn the gospel. Uh another way of saying it, we're to make the gospel attractive.

And just as a person gets dressed in the morning to make themselves presentable, we're supposed to get ourselves dressed, ready to share the gospel, to make the gospel attractive. And I don't know how many times I've had encounters with people where. I wanted to respond in a fleshly way, and I have to remind myself so fast, so quick. You are a representative of the Lord right now. Make the gospel attractive.

Don't be an ugly Christian. Um. Dan, we're not going to have but a few more minutes because we're going to go to Money Monday as a new segment for our fourth segment. But. I think I want to pitch a word to you and see what kind of reaction you give.

Um. When I go fishing, one of the life lessons is I need. To be Oh, I hate saying this word. Patient. Ooh.

Yeah. How important is it to be patient? In fishing, yes, but how important is it for you and I to be patient? with people. Oh, it's it's so important and You know, I think.

you know, we we all want people to be patient with us. Oh yeah. And it's easy to forget to be patient with others. And Um Yeah, and whether it's in trying to share the gospel with someone or to help someone or to serve someone or we're expecting someone to. To be somewhere, to do something, it's easy to become impatient and.

You know, growing up fishing, I hated patients as much as you do, Dwayne. And, you know, my dad was the one who, you know, well, my aunt, my uncle, my cousin took me the first time. I did a lot of fishing with my dad. My dad's incredibly patient. And he was patient with us when Know we were tangling our lines and we'd cast it out, and he'd say, No, don't reel it in.

And the next thing you know. I had reeled it in. And and he was just patient, you know. And so, and I'm grateful that God is patient with us. Yes.

And we then. Great characteristics of God. He is patient. And we need to then reflect that patience, his patience, to others. And so I think it's.

It's remembering his patience and his kindness to us. Uh Then I Seeing how God sees us, and then trying to see people the way God sees them. Um and and You're sharing and giving what we have freely received from him to others and not trying to do it through our own strength. Because if I just try to be patient with people myself, In my own strength, I'm not very good at it. Yeah.

Isn't patience one of the fruits of the Spirit? I think it is. I need to check, but I don't. Oh, did you say impatience or patience? No patience.

Yeah, patience is definitely there. Yeah. When I pray Colossians 1:9 through 11, it talks about strengthened with all glorious might for all patience. And long suffering with joy.

Well, that patience is with people, long suffering is with trials. Um I I have to be um uh able to Uh give people space. Um Space to grow, space, time to grow. And I know it took time for me to grow, but I think people ought to be able to grow a lot faster than I did. Um Absolutely.

And it's a great reminder. This isn't fishing. It's my job to put the bait in the right place. It's my job to present the lure as most attractively as possible to make that fish bite. But I cannot make the fish bite.

So I can do my part. And I think we have to remember, and I was reminding some of this other, we are not responsible for the results. We are responsible to be faithful, like God is responsible for the results. We're responsible to be faithful and to be obedient and to be patient and to. To share the gospel, and he will bring the results.

And we're being patient for callers, 866-348-7884. Love to hear your thoughts about lessons learned from fishing. And patience is one of them. There have been times, and you don't really know, but all of a sudden you start pulling that line in because I'm tired of waiting. I'm tired of waiting.

And who knows what you may have missed. The other day, Um I kept saying to myself, just leave the line alone. Just leave it alone. Over and over, leave it alone. Then bam, there it is.

And the patience paid off. And I think as we pray for people. As we witness to people, we got to let God's word and God's spirit have time to work in them. I know some situations with people, I want them to change immediately, Dan. I want them right now, but uh, we're sowing God's Word into our lives, God's Spirit.

We're praying for Him to work in their lives, and um. And sometimes his spirit has come up against a hard heart. It takes time to break through that hardness. And his love, it just keeps working, softening. But we've got to be patient.

1 Thessalonians 5:14, for our listeners, Paul says, Brethren, warn the unruly.

Okay, someone's out of line, warn them. Uh comfort the fainth-hearted. They've become discouraged. Uh strengthen the weak. Um And then he says those words that I don't want to keep, I don't want to memorize.

I just want those other three things and be doing them. But he says, be. Patient. With all. And I think if we go fishing, we learn about the value of being patient with people to give them time.

to internalize what God is doing. And I want to come back to Dan, isn't it awesome that God is patient with us? He's not willing that any should perish. But he's long suffering. He's patient with us.

It's such an amazing thing. I'm grateful he's been patient with me. I'm grateful that he's, like you said, he's patient. He's waiting for people to come to him and respond to him, respond to his love and his grace, and to. who come to the cross and be saved and Um You know, may we be able to reflect that patience as well as we are persistent, as we are faithful.

But maybe be patient. As we wrap up this segment, Dan, you know, one of the great stories of the Bible is Jesus calling his disciples. Matthew 4, he calls those disciples who were fishing. And he says, I will make you fishers of men. And as I think about lessons from fishing, is thinking about what God is making of me.

And I would hope our listeners would be thinking about it. I wonder what is God making of me? When he called me from what I was, He was calling me to what he wants me to become. And you think about how Peter went from fishing for fish to all of a sudden he's a great Preacher. He's preaching on the day of Pentecost.

He's a soul winner. And Our God is in the business of making something of us.

So, Dan, thank you for your call today. We're going to be going to David Fisher when we come back from the break, and we're going to be talking about Money Monday. Why?