All you need is a good hook.  It needs to be sharp.  And clean.  And shiny.   The same is true if you are using a lure with their fancy three-pronged hooks.   If you want to catch a fish, you need a good hook.  You might have some tasty bait or a bright new lure, but if the hook is no good, you won't be catching many fish.

Sharing the gospel and making disciples is much like fishing.  In fact, Jesus called his first disciples to be "fishers of men" (Mark 1:17).   Now I know these first followers were fishermen already but now Jesus was calling these men to put down their nets and instead of fishing for fish, now they would be fishing for people.   From fishermen to being fishers of men.   And yes, these 1st century fishermen used nets and not hooks, but let's keep the analogy going.  I could have referred to fishing nets but I know a little bit more about fishing hooks.   And like fishing for fish, when we fish for people as we make disciples we need good hooks.

Whenever I go fishing the first thing I do is make sure I have good, sharp, and clean hooks.   I want to be prepared once we get on the water's edge and we are ready to cast our lines.   This was not the case several years ago when my wife Jeannie and I booked a couple of spots on a deep sea fishing charter off the eastern coast of Australia.   Not only did we not venture more than a 1000 metres from shoreline, but when we were heading out I noticed one of the deckhands pick up a bucket of rusted hooks and there he was with a file trying to clean-up and sharpen those hooks.  It didn't surprise me that after hours of trawling the coast we only caught one small mackeral.  We just did not have good hooks.

If we are to be good at being "fishers of men" what kind of hooks do we need?   Well like a good fishing lure, we need a three-pronged hook to reach people with the good news of Christ.   First, our hooks needs to be attractive.   A good lure lures fish to bite because they look inviting.   The way they move, their colour, their shape -- it attracts fish.   The same is true if you use a single hook.   I keep telling my grandchildren, you need to put on a wiggly squiggly worm.   When the hook is attractive, you catch more fish.

As believers we need to be attractive to unbelievers, the lost.   People need to notice Christians -- see something that lures them to want to have what we have as followers of Christ.   See what?   Jesus put it like this: "Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."  (Matthew 5:16)  Peter echoes these words when he wrote:  "Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us."  (1 Peter 2:12)   As Jeff Vanderstelts puts it:  "We are God's display people, showing the world what he is like."  (Gospel Fluency, p. 186)  If we are to reach the lost we need to show them the goodness of God through our good deeds.   That will attract people to consider the claims of Christ.

But a fish will not be hooked if the lure or hook is only attractive.   Hooks also need to be sharp!  After being lured the fish might bite, but if the hook is dull, with a blunted edge, the fish will simply spit out the hook   But if it is sharp, the hook will take hold and you will have action.   You will feel the tug and pull of a fish that is hooked.

To reach the lost we don't just show the goodness of God; we also need to declare the goodness of God.   It is both show and tell.   Paul reminds us that "faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ."  (Romans 10:17)   It is through the proclaimed gospel (good news) that people come to believe in Jesus and come to know about God and begin to have a relationship with him.   And this is where we need to remain "sharp."   As Peter points out: "In your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect." (1 Peter 3:15)   In order to share the message of Christ wth others, we first need to know the message of Christ.   You cannot share what you do not know.   The best way to remain sharp is to daily read and study Scriptures.   You will be well prepared to answer people when they want to know why you live the way you do.

But notice what Peter adds in the passage I just quoted.   When we proclaim the gospel we need to do it "with gentleness and respect."   This is the third prong in our outreach hook: patience.    Any fisherman knows this.   If you have a fish hooked, you don't simply yank it up into the net or boat.  You need to be gentle and respect the fish.   Keeping your line taut, over time you slowly reel the fish in.   But if you slack off, the fish can easily get unhooked.   Some large fish that I have caught took a long, long time before I could reel it in completely.   It took a lot patience (and a lot of hard work).  

And so it is when we reach out to the lost.   Don't expect immediate results.  Don't pull too hard.   But keep at it.   Don't let your line go slack.   Keep up your 'show and tell'.   Allow the good news of Jesus to become irresistable to those who see your good deeds and hear the good news you share.   We might plant the hook into an unbeliever, but it is God, through his Word and Spirit, who breaks down the resistance, and moves people to surrender all.   So don't give up.  Keep praying.   Keep showing.   Keep telling.  And be patient.   It takes a three-pronged hook.   And eventually the lost will be hooked -- for good!