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“Go Fish”
Go Fish
Wade Webster
Do you remember playing the game Go Fish when you were a child? Although it may have been a while since you played, you can probably still remember the basics of it. In this study, we want to use the game Go Fish to teach some essential lessons about evangelism. As you recall, when Jesus called Peter, Andrew, James, and John to be His disciples, He promised to make them fishers of men (John 4:18-19; Lk. 5:10-11). In the Great Commission, He was commanding them to go fish (Mt. 28:18-20).
You Have To Ask For What You Want
In Go Fish, you have to ask for what you want. The other player is not likely to volunteer much. In like manner, in evangelism, you have to ask for what you want. If you want someone to come to church with you, or to have a Bible study with you, you have to ask them. James wrote, “Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not” (Jam. 4:2). James’ brethren were missing out on blessings because they failed to ask for them. In like manner, in evangelism, we miss out on many opportunities because we do not ask for them. We need to be the church that Isaiah pictured in prophecy. We read, “And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem” (Isa. 2:3; cf. John 1:43-46; 4:28-29). Today, we seem to be waiting for others to approach us.
You Can Only Ask For What You Have
In Go Fish, you can only ask for a match to a card that you already have. In like manner, in evangelism, we must hold that for which we are asking. Peter wrote, “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear” (1 Pet. 3:15). We can’t ask others to embrace a hope that we don’t have (cf. Col. 1:27).
You Must Ask Before Others Do
In Go Fish, other players are also looking for cards. In fact, they may be looking for some of the same cards that you are. In like manner, in evangelism, we must realize that others are also looking for converts. They are likely seeking some of the same people that we are. We must not let them ask first. On one occasion, Jesus declared, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves” (Mt. 23:15). At the same time that saints are seeking to open men’s eyes, Satan is seeking to blind their eyes (2 Cor. 4:3-4; cf. 1 Pet. 5:8).
You Must Ask Different People
In Go Fish, there are generally 3-6 players. If you ask one person for a card and they don’t have it, you don’t give up the search. When it is your turn again, you ask someone else. In like manner, in evangelism, we must ask different people. What we may not find in one place, we may find in another. Luke records, “Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles” (Acts 13:46; Mt. 22:2-3, 8-10). Today, I am convinced that we give up far too easily.
You May Have To Ask More Than Once
In Go Fish, you may have to ask a player for a certain card more than once. The fact that they don’t have a card at one point in the game doesn’t mean that they will not have it at another point. The cards in each player’s hand change throughout the game. In like manner, in evangelism, we may have to ask more than once to obtain what we are after. Jesus declared, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened” (Mt. 7:7-8). Please note the “eth” suffix on the word “asketh.” This suffix suggests repeated action. Those who hope to receive must ask again and again. Over time, circumstances can change and those who once were not receptive can become receptive.
Today, the Master is calling us to Go Fish. Will we heed His call and launch out into the deep? Perhaps, a draught of fishes is awaiting us.
