The Creative Connection With Ed Young - Shark Smart

0:00Welcome to the Creative Connection with Ed Young. Every day, Pastor Ed shares practical, biblical truth to help you grow in your faith and experience God's best for your life. If you'd like to stay connected between episodes, sign up for Pastor Ed's free devotional. Each morning you'll receive a brief scripture-based message that's designed to encourage your heart, strengthen your faith, and help you apply God's Word to everyday life. It's our gift to you. Sign up today at edyoung.com. That's edyoung.com. Now here's Pastor Ed. The Bible says in Matthew chapter 4, these words are read out of verses 18 to verse 20, Matthew 4, 18 and 20. As Jesus was walking beside the sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers. Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake for they were fishermen. Some follow me, Jesus said, and I will make you fishers of men.

1:04At once they left their nets and followed Him. In this context, it's not talking about a follow that's hollow. Jesus is talking about truly following Him. Jesus challenged these fanatical fishermen to be fanatical in another way. He said, follow me and I'll make you fishers of men. Fishers of men. How do you learn to be a fisher of men? You learn to fish by fishing. You fish for men. You cast your nets for men. It's the essence of why Jesus came that's the essence of His message. He fished for you and me. We have an opportunity to come into His family to be caught by the good news, by the hook of the gospel.

2:05When we're caught, then Jesus says, hey, if you followed me, if you're truly a fanatical follower, you too will fish. I fish a lot. I love fishing. Always get around and say fishing is a biblical sport. In fact, it is. Jesus was living in Cape Horniamat at the time and Cape Horniam was a place that was near water. He always seemed to be around water. He always seemed to be rubbing shoulders with fishermen. Most of the disciples were fishermen. Fishermen are visionary. Fishermen will face the elements. Fishermen are eternally optimistic. Fishermen fish. They identify with the fish. They think like a fish and that's why they're fishermen. Christ challenges you and me, just like He challenged those ancient fishermen to follow Him and to fish. When you fish, like I fish, if you really fish in the oceans, sharks will show up.

3:13I'll say it again. If you fish, sharks will show up. Let me stop here and add something. This talk today is directed toward people who are true fanatical followers of Christ. It's directed for people who have come into a personal relationship with Christ. I'm not talking about people who are religious. I'm talking about people who have a personal relationship. If you have never established a personal relationship, listen very carefully because you need to know what Jesus was all about and is all about. But specifically, I want to challenge myself and challenge every follower to fish. When you fish, when you really cast those nets, when you really think about people who don't know Christ personally, sharks will show up. Now why can't I say that? How can I say that? Think with me.

4:14The gospel is all about the blood of Jesus. We're toast without the blood of Jesus. In the blood, there's life. Grace, forgiveness, mercy is all about the blood of Jesus. He died on the cross for our sins and shed His precious blood for you and for me. When we preach the blood, when we teach the blood, when we live out the blood, the blood is attractive. It's attractive because there's a fragrance to it to people who don't know Christ. Also it's attractive to sharks. Sharks show up when there's blood in the water. Think with me to Jesus. Remember the sharks circling Him? Wanted to tear Him apart? Remember the fins slicing through the water? What did He do? He got away from the sharks. Many times He faced the sharks, but now and then He got away from the sharks.

5:16I think about Paul after his Damascus road experience. He became a follower. He was a guy who was persecuting the church. He was all about hating believers. And all of a sudden something shifts in His life that never shifts back. He has this powerful pivot point in His life. They tried to kill Him, to tear Him apart. Sharks showed up to attack Him. He had to sneak away from Damascus. He got away from the sharks. Time and time again we see people escaping from the sharks and we see people facing sharks. When you fish, sharks will show up. Something else. Sharks can keep us, I'm talking about believers, from catching the kind of fish we want to catch. You're fishing. You want to catch a certain type of fish, right? We're fishing.

6:17Our lives should be about fishing. We're fishing for men and women people away from God. We understand that. We know that. We've processed that. We see it. That's the message of Jesus. He started His ministry talking about fishing. He ended His ministry talking about fishing. It's all about that. It's about other things, but that's the main thing. When you concentrate on fishing, sometimes areas can be so shark infested that they keep the kind of fish you want to catch away. I've done that before. I've been fishing. I pulled up to an area and there's so many sharks circling the boat. So many sharks all around. Sharks are smart. They know that inevitably you're going to catch a fish. This fish will be thrashing and splashing. Then they'll eat the fish. So when I see that many sharks, I move. I move to another spot.

7:19That's what Jesus did. Too many sharks. He moved to another spot. That's what the Apostle Paul did. Too many sharks. He moved to another spot. Jesus one day tells his disciples if a city has too many fins in it, moved to another spot. Sharks can keep us from catching the kind of fish that the Lord Jesus wants us to catch. Are you shark smart? Are you shark smart? Your fisherman had you learn how to fish? You fish. That's how you learn how to fish. Start fishing. Start casting. Start praying. Start talking. Start inviting. Sharks will show up. Some areas though are so sharky. You got to move. That's one of the main things about sharks. Sharks are on the move all the time. They're moving. They're moving. They've got to move. They don't move. They'll die. We'll have sometimes sharks sleep. I've seen that on the Discovery Channel. Yeah, they sleep.

8:19The current though is running through their gills. Now sometimes you're going to see sharks and you just go, okay, there's some sharks. Because I would argue a healthy ecosystem is going to have some sharks. You don't want a fish in an area where there are no sharks, but you can't fish in areas where you have too many sharks. We're listening to the Creative Connection with Ed Young. This program is made possible by friends like you who believe God's word changes lives. Your generosity helps us share biblical truth with people every day through broadcast like this one, along with digital resources, devotionals and ministry outreach around the world. As our way of saying thank you, when you give to support Ed Young Ministries, we'll send you a featured pastor Ed resource created to encourage your faith and equip you for everyday living. To give and request this month's resource, visit edyoung.com slash give.

9:23That's edyoung.com slash give. Now let's get back to today's message. If you're not seeing sharks, you're not fishing. Something like, well, I don't see any sharks. I mean, I don't see any of these things. I mean, I don't see a shark at all. I don't see any fin. I don't see a dark shape. There's no blood in the water. So if you're not dealing with sharks, you're not fishing. Small sharks grow into big sharks. Sometimes you see a small shark is like no big deal, it's a small shark. I can handle it. Small sharks have the same character qualities as the big ones. We got teeth, we got fins, they got skin. It's easy to sort of skim over the small sharks. It's easy to sort of deny that they're there.

10:24It's easy to say, well, at a site, at a mine, it's just a small shark. I've got news for you though, sharks quickly grow from small to big. Are you dealing with the small sharks? Are you confronting the small sharks? Are you praying for real stuff to handle these small sharks? Right, we're going, well, what kind of sharks you're talking about? It sounds a little bit weird. You're telling me to be shark smart, to be aware of the sharks. You're telling me that Jesus has commanded me to fish, and that should be all about fishing. And I learned how to fish by fishing. What kind of sharks are you talking about, man? You talked in generalities, specifically, what kind of sharks are you talking about? I'm talking about the bull shark. Some of us deal with bull sharks. People who just full of it, man. Full of bull. People that talk a big game, but they don't live it out.

11:29People who sort of make you sink, they're a part of it that they support the body of Christ that they're involved in the church, that they're really engaged, but in reality, it's a bunch of their bull sharks, full of bull. Lemon sharks. Never met a lemon shark. A sour, man. Negative. Pessimistic. All that won't work. I can't believe we're trying that. The music is too loud. Sour. Negative. Lemon sharks. You're swimming with lemon sharks?

12:32Nursharks. The classic enabler. The classic shark that doesn't want to ruffle feathers. The classic shark that when other sharks are in a feeding frenzy, eating up this person or that person, eating up this leader or that leader, they just don't really do anything. They're just sort of there. Taking up space and taking up grace. Nursharks. Bottom feeders. Their teeth aren't that big. They're just sort of there. Hammerhead. You ever met a hammerhead shark? That stubborn person. Oh, I'm not going to change. No, man. I want it the way it used to be. Because the way it used to be is the way it should be. No change, man. No change. We're not going to change anything. We're not going to change. The great white shark.

13:33Some people are great white sharks. Ego and pride. They need to be needed. They've got to be a part of the end crowd. It's all about position. It's all about that apex predator, man. The great white shark. Great white, so kill you. Nursharks can kill you. Bull sharks can kill you. Lemon sharks can kill you. Hammerheads can kill you. Here's what's so sinister though about sharks. If you're not fishing, you can't identify sharks. I fish a lot. And over the years, over the decades of fishing, I can spot a shark at a long distance away. Most people who are just starting to fish, they can't really tell if it's a shark or not.

14:34I can tell if it's a shark or another kind of fish that I want to catch. Just by its characteristics, just by the way it moves its tail. Just by the way it swims and knives through the water. I can tell if it's a shark or not. Jude, chapter one, verses three and four, dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints. For certain men, whose condemnation, I'm talking about sharks, was written about long ago, have secretly slipped in among you, their godless men, who changed the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only sovereign and Lord. They're sharks amongst us.

15:35And if we're not seeing clearly, we think they're dolphins, but they're sharks. How do you know if they're sharks? When blooded in the water. How do you know if they're sharks? Sharks are cannibalistic. How do you know if they're sharks? Just by the way they swim. Are you swimming with sharks? Or dolphin? As you're fishing, as you're casting, are you facing sharks? If you are, man, you're fishing. If you're not, you're probably not fishing. Not only can I face sharks, I can become a shark. How can you become a shark? How can I become a shark? When you get over the grace of God, you begin to attack the work of God.

16:44You show me somebody who's gotten over the blood of Jesus. And I'll show you somebody who attacks. That is how I can become a shark. That is how you can become a shark when we stop fishing. When we stop walking and swimming and leading and pouring out the blood of Jesus, that's when we stop. We stop. We get over the grace of God. We get over the fact that once I was blind, now I can see we get over the fact that I deserved hell. And now I'm saved by the mercy of God. We get over it. And we become sharks. Bull sharks. They're sharks. Lemon sharks. Great whites. Hammerheads.

17:44So if we're going to reach to people, friends, that we need to reach, we're going to be sharks smart. We're going to get the sharks out of here. We've got a shark proof, our church, shark proof our lives. Yeah, we're going to deal with a few. We're going to deal with them, you know, but if we have too many, I'm telling you, something's wrong, and too many people and too many churches live in denial and let the sharks swim, telling themselves their purposes, telling themselves their dolphins, but in reality, they're sharks. You want to fish? You want to learn to fish? Fish. Keep fishing. You'll understand the glorious gospel. You'll be under the authority of the blood of Jesus. When we forget the grace of God, we begin to attack the work of God.

18:44I mean, fellowship church, is it about the thrill of seeing someone come to Christ? Or is it about the kill? I want our church to be a dangerous church. I want hell to tremble when fellowship church gets together every single weekend. That's what I want. I want every demon to freak out when our feet pit the floor as we get up in the morning. That's what I want. That's what God wants. Are you fishing? Are you fishing? Followers fish. One of the worst things that can happen when you're fishing is you have a fish on the line. It's the fish of a lifetime. You're like, oh, this is great. I'll be setting out of nowhere. You see a shark. Follow the fish on your line. The shark picks up the thrashing and the splashing,

19:44the nervous water eats the fish off of your line. I have a friend of mine. He's not a follower of Christ. This guy is way away from God. I've talked to him, prayed for him, and he told me a couple of months ago he goes, I want to attend fellowship church. One of your services, I really, really do. And then he mentioned someone that he knows in this town that I know that I thought was a dolphin, but in reality this guy is a shark.

20:48And when he told me, hey, I'll just call this person who is a shark and welcome to fellowship, I said to myself, oh, crap. Sharks. I've got to keep this shark off of this guy, who's away from the Lord. And this shark gives the vibe that he is a full-court follower of Christ, but he's a card-carrying hypocrite. Dressed up like a dolphin. Gotta be shark smart. Shark smart. People come to Jesus. People get hooked with the gospel. Keep them away from the sharks. Keep them away from the sharks. First Peter 5 or say,

21:51watch out. Be alert. Self-control. Your enemy, the shark, the devil. Prouds. Like a roaring lion. Like a hungry, great white shark. Seeking someone to devour. That's the enemy. He comes to steal, kill, and destroy. That's the enemy. He wants to steal fish from us. He wants to kill fish from us. He wants to destroy fish from us. Knowingly, people are led this way and unknowingly. So the blood that wants attracts can cause us to attack. May we never get over being shark smart.

22:51May we never get over fishing for men. May we never get over the thrill of fishing. Not catching. God does the catching the thrill of fishing. The thrill of the pull. The thrill of seeing someone caught by the mercy and the grace of God. The thrill of someone being attracted by the blood of Jesus. The thrill of someone being cleansed. The thrill of someone being saved. The thrill of someone being rescued. The thrill. The thrill. The thrill. Oh, fishing for men. Thanks for joining us today for the Creative Connection. If this ministry has encouraged your walk with Christ, would you prayerfully consider partnering with us? Your financial support helps us continue sharing real answers for real life

23:51through the truth of God's word with people around the world. And as our thank you for your generosity, we'd love to send you a special pastor ed resource filled with biblical encouragement and practical insight that you can use in your everyday life. To give and receive this month's featured resource, visit edyoung.com slash give. That's edyoung.com slash give. Thanks again for listening and we'll see you next time on the Creative Connection.