Richard Ellis Talks

Guest (Male): Today, on Richard Ellis Talks, it’s not about you agreeing with me, it’s about us agreeing with him. Find out what the book says, what did Jesus tell those men? Whatever the Father revealed to him, that’s what he told them. If we look more and more like a school of fish, that’s part of what gets the world’s attention because it’s not possible without him.

Guest (Male): Welcome to Richard Ellis Talks with Richard Ellis. Richard’s going to take the next few minutes to share some great words of hope and insight for you. And in today’s broken world, that is something everyone is desperate to hear. Richard shares unapologetically the truth of the Bible in a way that’s clear, relational, and uplifting. So, thank you for taking this time to listen. We know it will bless you. And when you have a moment, you might want to check out our website so we can stay connected with you, RichardEllis.com. But right now, let’s go ahead and get things off and running with today’s talk. Here’s Richard Ellis.

Richard Ellis: The title of today’s message is School of Fish.

A small-town doctor was famous in the area for always catching large fish. One day, he was on one of his frequent fishing trips and he got a call that a woman at a neighborhood farm was giving birth. He rushed to her and delivered a healthy baby boy. The farmer had nothing to weigh the baby with so the doctor used his fishing scales. The baby weighed 21 pounds and 13 ounces.

Richard Ellis: I’ll let it trickle through the crowd.

Richard Ellis: All right, quickly go to Matthew 4. I want to talk to you today about two or three kinds of school of fish. And in Matthew chapter 4 is the first one. If you read this story, Jesus has been tempted in the wilderness, he comes out, he’s about to select his disciples. And verse 17 of Matthew 4, from that time Jesus began to preach and to say, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. And Jesus walking by the Sea of Galilee, which is basically just a big lake. They call it the Sea of Galilee. He saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea for they were fishermen.

Now, you say, well, what’s the big deal about that? How many of you have ever cast a net fishing? I’m talking about the kind that you gather it all up, you get some of the rope in your teeth, you take it and you sling it out over the water, it drops, sinks, you pull the rope and it grabs the fish in and you do that all day long. So, now, how many have done that? Back to hands again.

Richard Ellis: A few people have done that.

Richard Ellis: Okay, I had a guy, a true fisherman in Florida, who missing an eye, he looked like a pirate, he looked like he’d just kill you, you know, just terrifying. He became a Christian, but he was such a fisherman that other fishermen would follow him out into the open sea. He’d get in his boat and go 50 miles out and stop. No GPS, this is back when nobody had anything. And this guy knew where the fish were. Somehow he knew. And he got me on an airboat one day and we’re going through the Everglades, whatever it was we were down there and, you know, he starts throwing this net. He says, do you want to learn how to do this?

This is not an easy thing. And you’ve got junk in your mouth and the timing of it, you sling it, it’s hard work. So, when you read stuff like this, these are not people out on a fishing trip. Okay? Little sentences like this, let’s read it again. He sees Simon called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea for they were fishermen. That’s what they did. That’s how they made their livelihood.

So, if I said are you a fisherman, then I’d get a few, yeah, kind of, a hand would go up. You go, well, not really. If I started qualifying what that meant, like, do you fish for a living? Right? Now you’re a fisherman. You say, well, no, I’m not that kind of fisherman, but I like to fish and I’m good at fishing. So, there’s all kind of categories.

So, let’s go back to our story. Jesus walking by the Sea of Galilee. He saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea for they were fishermen. They knew what they were doing because that’s what they did. Then he said to them, you followed someone else, your dad, somebody taught you how to do that. So, here’s my proposal. Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.

So, you read through this stuff and go, oh, what does that mean? They knew exactly what that meant. It meant an apprenticeship. It meant someone taught me how to do this. You’re saying if we follow you, you’re going to teach us how to do that. And it isn’t going to be a weekend seminar. It’s going to take a long time because we didn’t learn this overnight. Okay?

So, you say, well, I think I’m a follower of Jesus. Then you’re learning. Then you’re growing. Then you’re catching fish. Because that was what he said. If you follow me, I will make you to become what? Fishers of men. How do you know if you’re a good fisherman? Pretty easy, right? You’re catching fish.

You can sit out there all day and say, I’m an expert fisherman. What’d you catch? Well, nothing yet. I ain’t believing nothing until I see your fish, right? That tells me how good you are. Well, it was a bad day. You can only have so many bad days before you’re a sorry fisherman. Because you’d figure out, move somewhere else, try something else, do different bait, different hook, something, do different lures, something.

So, Jesus proposes something, follow me and I’ll enroll you in my school of fish. I will teach you to fish men. Now, how long did the school of fish last? How long did it take? Three years. How long are you willing to give this? You say, well, I just want to take a quick class and, you know, that’s all I’m interested in. Then that’s probably all you’re going to get.

So, someone comes along and says, hey, follow me. I’ll make you a fisher of men. You go, wow, that sounds amazing. It’s going to take time though. See, we know this stuff. We have doctors in the room. If you went to have yourself worked on, you went to the doctor and you said, how are you doing, new guy, new plan, and say, well, tell me about yourself. Well, last week, I was working down at the grocery store and just got this job being a doctor. Well, have you been to school for this? Not yet, but I’m real excited about that. Bend over. You know.

Richard Ellis: I ain’t bending over. I want to know that you know what you’re doing if you’re going to help me and especially if you’re going to teach me. It’s years. It’s not three years, it’s 12 years. It’s doing it, it’s showing it, it’s watching someone else do it. And we go, oh, we wouldn’t let anybody touch our bodies unless they had been through this whole process. Then why do we settle for less spiritually?

Find the best doc you can spiritually, the best fisherman you can spiritually and follow that guy, or that woman and let them teach you and understand it’s not going to happen overnight or in a weekend or in a couple months. It’s going to take time and you’re going to have to stick with it and with them. And it’s going to be very frustrating. And Jesus picks these guys. One of these in particular spends three years with him and at the end of the road, he ditches. So, you have to understand even if you are willing to lead someone, they can flake on you. It’s still worth the process. Because eventually they might come back around and turn other people into fishers of men.

Okay, is everybody getting this concept? School of fish, okay? Follow me, I will make you fishers of men. They immediately left their nets and followed him. Who does this? Why would you drop everything and follow some guy walking down the beach unless you believed that what he had to offer you was going to trump what you knew already? And that, yeah, you could make your livelihood doing one thing, but this guy was offering you a life. Something that would change you and potentially change the world.

Now, you say, well, does that mean we’re all supposed to quit our jobs and follow Jesus? No, but you are supposed to follow Jesus. And he sends people along for you to follow in that process. And you say, no one’s offered that to me. Keep looking. And watch out for people. And walk up to them and if they don’t say follow me, say, look, I’m looking for somebody to follow. I think you’ve got what I’m looking for. Will you help me? I’m in for as long as it takes. I’ve talked about Claude, the old man that wore me out and part of what he used was this. I will stay with you as long as it takes. I’d never had anybody tell me that.

And then he died on me, so that didn’t work out too good. He didn’t leave me, but his job was done. So, you say, well, I don’t want any of that. And I get that. I understand there are people that just, you know, you just want to fish off the dock and do your thing. I’m talking about getting into some deep-sea fishing, knowing where the fish are, getting out there where people really are and knowing what to do. You say, this seems way more complex than I thought. I just wanted to ticket to heaven. It’s not just a ticket to heaven. As awesome as that is, God has left us here for a reason. And school of fish is part of that.

Keep reading here a minute. Said to them, follow me, I’ll make you fishers of men and immediately they left their nets and followed him. Going on from there, he met two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. You know, if you’re a fisherman, you’re not a men. That’s all these details. He called them and immediately they left their boat and their father and they followed him. And he takes off, just picking people.

That’s one kind of school of fish. Go to John 17. And by the way, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John basically record the school of fish, what Jesus taught them. Three years, highlights, a few stories. They tell some stories in some case, some tell different ones, but it’s just a sampling of what happened. And he taught them. He’s even referred to in Matthew 22 as a teacher, referred to as teacher. You teach the way of truth. In John chapter 3, Nicodemus comes and says, we know you’re a teacher. They knew this guy was a teacher. If you’re a teacher, you have students. You have pupils, you have people following you, learning from you.

Okay? So, if you’re going to tell people to follow you, you have to know something to tell them or they’re not going to follow you. Before I read you John chapter 17, a few verses out of this, let me read you some explanation of a school of fish. It’s either called shoaling or schooling. In biology, any group of fish that stay together for social reasons are shoaling. And if the group is swimming in the same direction in a coordinated manner, they are schooling.

I love watching fish do this. If there’s some sea over under the world, whatever ocean thing, and they got fish doing this, I think it is one of the crazy cool things that God ever did. Watching fish who never touch, inches apart from each other, swimming like they’re on a string somehow, just connected. And they’re not connected. And somehow they watch each other and instinctively, the whole thing moves to the left, moves up and down right. They just, it’s like they’re one. That’s what we are supposed to look like. Swimming in the same direction.

Now keep listening to the rest of this. And if the group is swimming in the same direction in a coordinated manner, they are schooling. In common usage, the terms are sometimes used rather loosely. About one-quarter of fish shoal all their lives and about one-half of fish shoal for part of their lives. Now listen to this. Fish derive many benefits from shoaling behavior including defense against predators.

Why do they shoal? Why do they school? Because together, they can fend off predators. And this article goes on to say, through better predator detection and by diluting the chance of individual capture. So, a shark or something swims up and doesn’t see one fish, it sees this shoal of fish and doesn’t even know what to hit first because they’re together, going in the same direction. Enhanced, another benefit, enhanced foraging success. They can find food easier together than alone. And higher success in finding a mate.

Now we got people who just jump from church to church, kind of trolling. They’re not shoaling, they’re trolling. Whole another deal. I used to work at another church downtown Dallas and I’d have guys that would hit a big mega church out North for the early service. They’d drive down the toll road, hit another church kind of halfway down for the second service, or Sunday school class, and then they’d come downtown where I was for the third deal. I’m like, dude, what are you doing? I’m trying to find a wife. I’m like, dude, you’re probably passing her on the toll road.

You’re so busy running up and down the road trying to find her, why won’t you just go commit somewhere? Because a girl that hopefully you’re looking for is looking for someone to commit and you can’t even pick a church. Think about it. You’re trying to pick a mate and you can’t pick a church. Oh, I’m afraid she’s over there. Well, if she’s like you, she’s not going to be anywhere either.

Richard Ellis: I didn't know that was going to happen, but there you go.

Richard Ellis: Okay, so higher success in finding a mate. And there’s actually this term in the article, shoalmates. Shoalmates. What we end up being as a church are shoalmates. We swim together. We stay together, fend off predators, find food.

John 17, now listen to this. Verse 1. Jesus spoke these words, lifted up his eyes to heaven. Okay, he’s about to be crucified, it’s all going down and he prays a prayer, a high priestly prayer here. And look what he says. Jesus spoke these words, lifted his eyes to heaven and said, Father, the hour has come. Glorify your son that your son also may glorify you. As you have given him authority over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. Now you say, well, I know the only true God. If it doesn’t include Jesus, you don’t know the only true God.

So, someone says, oh, I believe in God. Nice start. The demons in hell believe in God, tremble at his name, keep going. Which God are you talking about? The only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I have glorified you on the earth. I have finished the work which you gave me to do. Now, what is part of that work which he gave me to do? To make these guys fishers of men.

If this was not an important part of the process, Jesus could have blown in here for a weekend and gotten his job done and gotten out of here. You know, kind of put the word out. Hey, I’m coming in on Thursday, going to get killed on Friday. I’ll be in the grave a couple days, get raised from the dead. I’ll cover all your stuff and then I’m out of here. I don’t have time for you people. I’ll come die for you, but that’s it. No, he’s born like we’re born, lives down here, figures out what it takes to be a carpenter. Then teaches these guys how to be fishers of men. It took time. It took him 30 years to get ready for three.

Think about it. You say, oh, but he was God. He knew everything. He learned everything he knew. Or why would he have just sat around doing whatever he was doing for 30 years? I think he spent 30 years studying and preparing for the three, game on, here we go. So, he says, I have finished the work which you have given me to do. And now, O Father, glorify me together with yourself and with the glory which I had with you before the world was. I have manifested your name to the men whom you have given me out of the world. I’ve manifested, I’ve shown them you, your name to these guys that you gave me, referring to the 12.

They were yours. You gave them to me and they have kept your word. Now they have known that all things which you have given me are from you. For I have given to them the words which you have given to me. So, whatever he gave to them, it was what God had given to him. And they have received them and have known surely that I came forth from you and they have believed that you sent me. So, it worked.

I pray for them. I do not pray for the world, but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. And all mine are yours and yours are mine and I am glorified in them. Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world and I come to you, Holy Father, keep through your name those whom you have given me, that they may be one as we are one. Okay? So, what is he after? And the impossibility, we’ve made this even infinitely harder.

Because you say, well, if a bunch of fish who look the same, same size, same everything, we get them shoaling together then we can be one easier. Even a bunch of white rich people can’t get along. You can pick any group of people, homogeneous group of people, throw them in a room and call it a church and say, okay, you guys be one as Jesus and the Father were one. You can’t do it without God, but when you try this, you’re really in trouble because this is impossible.

Because the only thing we have in common in some cases is Jesus. We chose to respond to his call to follow me and we said, yes, sir, and then you look up and here’s the fish. And somehow he wants us to swim as one. It is possible or we got to quit. You say, does that mean we have to agree with each other on everything? Eventually, it’s not about you agreeing with me, it’s about us agreeing with him.

Find out what the book says, what did Jesus tell those men? Whatever the Father revealed to him, that’s what he told them. This is part of my point. If we look more and more like a school of fish, then you’ll see in a minute, that’s part of what gets the world’s attention. Because it’s not possible without him.

So, keep reading there. So, he’s saying here, Holy Father, keep through your name those whom you have given me that they may be one as we are one. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in your name. Those whom you gave me, I have kept and none of them is lost except the son of perdition. He’s talking about Judas, that the scripture might be fulfilled. But now I come to you and these things I speak in the world that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves.

I have given them your word. And the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not pray that you should take them out of the world, but that you should keep them from the evil one. So, you say, well, Jesus get me out of here. That’s not what he prayed. He left them here. He said, I’m not going to pray that you get out. I’m going to pray that you’ll have protection that you’ll be kept from the evil one. They are not of the world just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by your truth, your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. So, this thing is replete with Jesus teaching them, Jesus sending them. So, you know, you see one, do one, teach one, right? That’s what surgeons do. You see one, you do one, you teach one. So, what has Jesus done? He showed them it. They would do it and now it’s getting to the place where it’s their job to teach someone else how to do it. He could leave them because the model’s in place.

Keep reading. As you sent me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself that they also may be sanctified by the truth. I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in me through their word. This is so awesome. Jesus on the planet, praying for me, right there. Because someone would believe through those 11 that kept their word, someone through their word, through their word, and here we sit. That’s the only way we get this. The question is not, are we all teachers? The question is, what kind of teachers are we? And are we stepping this thing up enough to be able to be equipped to help someone else, really help them?

I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they all may be one as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be one in us. And then look at this next phrase. That the world may believe that you sent me. Part of why they bite and buy into what we’re offering is that they walk in a gathering like this and look around and see us loving one another. By this will all men know that you are my disciples, that you have love one for another. They see us schooling, shoaling together and go, this is not possible. They move as one. How are they doing that?

No one can force it. It’s by choice we swim together and we are protected together, we eat together, we do these things as a fellowship, as a family and the world says, I want that. And I want anybody who can produce that. And no one can produce it but him. And that’s what makes church when it works so stinking powerful. Because you can’t explain it. Because it doesn’t matter what we have in common or not. We have a passion to follow him, to chase after him, to make him known, to know him, all these things and then people go, this is unbelievable. You say, well, I’m not interested in all that. Well, then knock yourself out, you’re blowing the only life you got.

He’s after you, be after him. Where’d we leave off? Okay, verse 22. And the glory which you gave me, I have given them that they may be one just as we are one. I in them, you in me, that they may be made perfect in one and that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them as you loved me. Do you think that God loves you the way he loved Jesus? And loves Jesus?

Richard Ellis: That’s what I didn’t know. That’s what I didn’t know. That God, the Father, loves me like he loves Jesus. And the day somebody helped me see that, my whole life changed. Because he’s on my side. He cares about me and it works.

Richard Ellis: I got other verses, but that probably does it, okay. This is a body. One spirit lives in the body. And we either, what makes my body work is that I got one spirit, someone controlling this body. I mean, if I stood up here and the whole time I spoke, all of a sudden I kept hitting myself in the head with my right hand, you go, what is wrong with him? And I said, well, sorry about my hand, it just gets out of control sometimes.

So, if I walked around all day doing that, you go, wow, that guy’s got a problem. Why doesn’t someone help him? Right? I can’t help it. I just, it’s my life. So, you say that’s ridiculous, you look crazy. That’s what churches look like. They’re around hitting themselves. Conflict, can’t swim together, can’t figure stuff out. Figure it out. So, you say, well, I got an issue with somebody. Then talk to God about it. Talk to them about it. Sit down, pray through it. You know what, there’s nothing you can’t resolve. If you’re willing to forgive and love and work it out. The world doesn’t know how to do that. Usually.

Guest (Male): Richard will be back in a moment to wrap up today’s talk. But first, I want to share a couple thoughts with you. Let’s be honest. Real life isn’t about living some highlight reel for others to see. Most people have deep hurts, questions, and struggles. We get it and want to help you in any way we can. So, let’s keep this conversation going. Give us a call at 855-6-RICHARD or connect with us at our website, RichardEllis.com. You can even put in your prayer request right there on the prayer wall so others can pray for you as well. Call us at 855-6-RICHARD or online at RichardEllis.com. And now let’s get back to Richard with a final word on today’s show.

Richard Ellis: This is all pretty simple stuff. I encourage you to enroll in the school of fish. Get you a teacher, ask God to send you a teacher. I’m about to crank up with some guys right now and go back at it. Um, and then I’m going to say something very personal. From my experience of doing the discipling thing, my experience with Claude who took me on for so many years, came back around and bit me. Because I realized how much hell I put Claude through. Because he would try to teach me something and maybe a year or two years would go by and I wouldn’t engage and then I’d finally get it and he’d pick up where we left off. It wasn’t an overnight thing.

So, I think, well, I got this all figured out and I’m going to spend time every week and boom, boom, we got this machine down. Everybody’s going to get it. You know what, it isn’t that way. And you have to be willing to let someone be patient with you and you have to be willing to be patient with someone. Jesus was extremely patient with these 12 guys that he picked and spent three years down here with, primarily. Three of those guys, they’re denying, they’re asking who can sit on either side of him. It’s completely jacked up.

So, if you think you’re a problem, he had real problems that he picked. But they got the job done. Be patient. It works. It may take a lifetime. A guy walked in the door today and I said to someone else, that is a long trip. This guy’s been in prison. He’s come, he’s gone. It’s a mess. But you know what? He walked in the door today. He’s still in the game. He’s going to die and go to heaven whether he makes it down here is tied to some choices and what we are willing to do if he’s willing to be taught and help him get up on his feet. You say, yeah, but he didn’t amount to anything. How do you know that? Let God decide that.

Guest (Male): You’ve been listening to Richard Ellis Talks. We really appreciate that you spent this time with us, but we want to keep the conversation going with you. So, give us a call anytime at 855-6-RICHARD. That’s 855-6-RICHARD or through our website, RichardEllis.com by sending an email to us so we can stay connected with you. We love bringing you the program every day, but it means even more to us when you let us know how the program is helped you. Call us at 855-6-RICHARD or through the website, RichardEllis.com. Your story needs to be heard and we’re listening, caring, and encouraged. 855-6-RICHARD or RichardEllis.com. Finally, if you enjoy the program, let us know by your generous support to join us on our mission to reach the planet. We can’t do it alone and need your help on this mission. RichardEllis.com. So, until next time, have a great day and thank you for listening to Richard Ellis Talks.