As we open our Bibles to the 13th chapter of Matthew I want to begin by asking you a question:
What kind of fish are you?
My children have a book by Dr. Seuss called “One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish”.
The book begins with these words:
“One fish, two fish,
red fish, blue fish.
Black fish, blue fish,
old fish new fish.
This one has a little star.
This one has a little car.
Say! What a lot of fish there are.”
We all come in different shapes and sizes, but this morning I ask, “What kind of fish are you?”
Spoken plainly by Jesus Christ in the bible, he tells each of us that there are only two types of fish; they are either evil or they are righteous and we will be separated this way at the close of the age.
In the 13th chapter of Matthew, we find a series of parables that Jesus is preaching.
Verse 36 explains that Jesus had left the crowds and went inside.
While inside, he taught his disciples.
First, he reflected on the “Parable of the weeds” he had shared with the crowd. Then he moves to tell the parable of the Hidden Treasure, the parable of the pearl, and concludes with the parable of the net.
The parable of the net describes the Day of Judgment. Revelation 20 describes this Day of Judgment.
John writes
11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. 13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:11-15, ESV)
The Bible is clear that there will come a time when the net is cast and every man and woman will be sorted into two groups.
So this morning I ask you again, “What kind of fish are you?”
As we look at this parable we see the net Jesus will use to decide our fate.
He first describes a Relentless Dragnet.
Look with me at Matthew 13:47:
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. (Mt. 13:47, ESV)
Notice that Jesus describes the fisherman as he throws his net and gathers fish of every kind.
When I saw this, I immediately thought of the process of dredging a lake for fish. Most of the time dredging is used to pick up debris from the bottom of a lake, but sometimes the technique is used to collect large numbers of fish. As the boat pulls a net behind it picking all of the fish in that area, it collects all of the fish regardless of what kind.
The point Jesus makes here is very clear.
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. (Matthew 13:47, ESV)
On the day of the Lord, all of us will stand before the Lord and give an account. It doesn’t matter who we are, we will give an account. The fisherman gathered fish of every kind and so it will be for us.
It reminds me of a Police Dragnet.
I was reading an old newspaper from 1911. There was a murder in the Chinatown section of San Francisco. And immediately after the victim’s body was found, a dragnet was thrown out to find the suspected killer, who had completely vanished–leaving all of his belongings at home or in the bank. (San Francisco Chronicle, March, 4, 1911, p. 4)
A police dragnet is thrown out to catch all of the criminals in a certain crime and to bring them in.
The same is true for us and our crimes as well; there will come a time when we must give an account for these crimes.
The Bible tells us that;
…all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, (Romans 3:23, ESV).
And James 2:10 says;
For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. (James 2:10, ESV).
All of us are guilty of crimes against God. We are all sinners.
Just as the police bring in those on their list of criminals, God will bring in every one on His list as well, and it will include each and every one of us because all of us are guilty.
Are you prepared to give an answer for your guilt today? You can be free from your guilt if you trust in Christ today.
The Bible says;
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1, ESV)
Turn to Christ today and you will be free from the guilt of your sin.
The fisherman throws out his net and catches fish of every kind. What happens next?
There is a solemn determination.
Look with me at Matthew 13:48;
When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad.(Matt. 13:48-49, ESV)
The nets are full of fish and the fishermen sort the good fish from the bad fish.
We all receive junk main in our mailbox. We get newsprint advertisements, big post cards, credit card application and catalogs on a regular basis. Handling junk mail and keeping it from piling up is best when you sort the mail when you open the mailbox.
So when I open the mailbox, I do what many of you do, I sort the mail.
I put the good mail on the table and put the junk mail in the trash. And to do that, I make a determination. I make a determination whether I should keep or throw away.
There is coming a day when Jesus will decide whether he will save or destroy. His determination will be based on whether you have accepted him, or rejected him.
Because of our sin, we deserve to be cast aside and thrown into “the fiery furnace” where there will be “weeping and gnashing of teeth”.
Colossians 1:21 says it this way
And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, (Col 1:21, ESV)
In our sin, we were all alienated and hostile toward God. But God loved us and sent his Son to die in our place.
If we accept him;
he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, (Col 1:22, ESV)
The promise is that through Christ, we can be reconciled by the death of Jesus. Jesus paid the price for us all.
There is a solemn determination and every man and woman are sorted into two barrels.
One for those that have accepted Christ—whose sins are covered by the blood of Jesus, by accepting him as their payment for sin.
And the others who have rejected Christ; there is a Dreadful Destination.
Look with me at Matthew 13:49-50;
So it will be at the close of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous 50 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Mt. 13:49-50, ESV)
Several times in the Bible Jesus describes the place of torment.
In Luke 16, Jesus tells about the rich man who died and went to hell.
This rich man begged Abraham to send Lazarus to his home to tell his family to repent. He did want his family to suffer as he was. The rich man said,
“I am in anguish in this flame.” (Luke 16:24, ESV)
In John 15, Jesus says;
If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. (John 15:6, ESV)
In Mark 9, Jesus again describes this as a place
‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’(Mark 9:48, ESV)
Hell is truly a dreadful destination.
We don’t like to talk about hell. We don’t like to talk about death itself, but we certainly don’t like to talk about hell.
In a survey released [in 2008] by the [Pew Forum], just 59 percent of [the] respondents said they believe in a hell "where people who have led bad lives, and die without being sorry, are eternally punished."
Even then, many times, we think this hell is only reserved for the most hardened of criminals, such as Adolf Hitler and Osama Bin Laden.
Jesus is very clear that hell is real.
It is every bit as real as heaven and we must talk about it.
Without the foundation reality of hell, the death of Christ on the cross is meaningless.
Christ came to rescue the perishing. We must hear the words of the rich man in hell and tell our friends, so they may escape the suffering and anguish.
And the way to escape hell is to repent of our sin. Repentance is turning from our sin and turning toward Christ. Christ is the only answer for our sin.
In his letter to the Romans, Paul writes;
… “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. 13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. (Romans 10:11-13, ESV)
The Bible says that there is “no distinction between Jew and Greek”. It does not matter if you are a red fish, a blue fish, an old fish, or a new fish.
For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. (Romans 10:13, ESV)
What kind of fish are you?
This morning, you have an opportunity to decide which kind of fish you will be.
Will you be one who goes to heaven or one who spends eternity in hell?
99% percent of the population believe that they are going to heaven. But Jesus says:
For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. (Matthew 7:13a-14, ESV)
I ask people all of the time where they are spiritually, and they tell me about the last time they went to church.
It is not about where you go to church. Where you go to church is important, but walking into a church has no bearing on your eternity without an acceptance of Christ and what he did on the cross.
I invite you today to make a decision for Christ today. I invite you to place your faith in Christ for your salvation.
After the service, I will be here at the front and would love to share with you more about following Christ.
Today is the day of repentance for you. Don’t take another breath without Christ; you never know when you will take your last.
Let us pray.
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This sermon was preached at Memorial Chapel, Fort Lee, VA on 24July2011. All scripture marked ESV: The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.