One of my favorite witnessing tools when I go out to eat is a simple question I ask my waiter or waitress:  “Do you know Jesus loves you?”  Of course, the usual answer is “yes”.  That prompts another question; Does Jesus know you love Him?   That usually brings a reply like, “Mm-hmm”, or “I think so.”  Sometimes, “I ask, Would you like to tell Him so now?”  You might call that “leading”, I prefer to call it “fishing”. 

    You see, I’m a fisher for lost souls.  I’ll never forget one time at Houlihan’s restaurant while passing through Kansas City.  It was noon, and boy, was that place packed out.  The waitress came to my table, and after giving her my order, I asked, “Do you know Jesus loves you?”  She said “Yes”, and left.  When she came back with a huge tray of plates for me and another table, I asked, “Does Jesus know you love Him?”  She said, “Probably not.”  I asked, “Would you like to tell Him right now?”  She said, “I don’t know Jesus”, and half smiled.  I knew she was busy, otherwise she wouldn’t be standing there holding a tray with about 4 other plates of food on it.  But I had to ask just one more question;  “Would you like to know Jesus right now?”  Much to my surprise, she said “YES!”

                  She put down her tray and got on her knees beside my table, and I got on my knees with her, and we prayed, and she asked Jesus to save her, right there during rush hour.  You could have heard a pin drop in that place, because suddenly everyone stopped talking and eating and just stared at us.

            About that time her boss came out of the kitchen asking what was going on, and that girl was just glowing!  She said “I just got saved”, and asked if he wanted to be saved, too!  That guy got a dumb look on his face and started to turn around and leave, and suddenly fell on the floor.  When he got up a couple seconds later, he was ready to pray, too, and did.  What a wonderful lunch it was.  The food was great, and we had church at Houlihan’s, yes indeed!  And two lost souls met Jesus.  I can’t think of a better way to have lunch. 

           I imagine one day I’ll see them in heaven, and they will remind me of that day when a fisherman’s simple question, “Do you know Jesus loves you?” reeled them in to the Kingdom of God.

            Now, I’m not so vain as to think if I hadn’t asked those questions, that the young lady and her boss would not have ever been saved.  But then again, who knows?  The truth is, if we are asking God for souls for His Kingdom, He will put us where the fishing is good.

             One thing about fishing, if you want to catch any fish, you have to get off the couch and grab your fish pole.  Your worst day fishing will always be better than your best day working, remember that.   Next, you have to decide where to fish.  A place where fish are is always a good place to start.  Next, you need to go where the fish are.   Why?  Because they don’t come to you. Next, you gotta have bait. 

            My Uncle Chet used to catch lots of fish, because he was serious about it.  He would put several hooks on a single line, and put a worm on each one.  Sometimes 3 or 4 fish would bite at the same time.  And he’d just grin and reel them in.

Once we were fishing, and I asked him what the secret to his success was.  His reply was, “Ya’ gopm keepmwzwm.”  Or something like that.  I said, WHAT???  And he emptied his mouth and said, “Ya gotta keep the worms warm!”  I laughed so hard I nearly fell out of the boat.  But he wasn’t laughing.  He was keeping his worms warm! 

            That day I learned something about fishing for fish.  A few years later, I learned about fishing for men.  If you want to be a soul winner, you use the same rules you do for fishing.  You have to get up off your couch and go where the fish are.  Only, you don’t need a license to be a fisher of men.  But you still need bait. 

    They’re hungry, but they don’t always know it, and they’re not always biting.  Maybe they have too much other stuff on their mind to think about Jesus. That’s why you have to remind them by asking “Do you know Jesus loves you?”

             It saddens me that some fishers of men use the promise of prosperity for bait.  Oh, it catches some, alright, but they later may come off the hook and you’ll lose them.  I find the best bait is the promise of eternal life if they will follow Jesus to the end.  That part “to the end” keeps them on the hook “to the end” and they don’t jump off.  They’re “Keepers”.  Besides, you can’t really call yourself a fisher of men if they all get away, can you?  God rewards you for the Keepers, and for being a fisher of men.

            You may ask, Aren’t they smelly?  Yes, fish can be, and so can people.  But your job is to fish, not sniff.  You catch ‘em, God cleans ‘em.  Sounds like a deal to me!  Don’t ever look at someone and say they aren’t worth fishing for.  Jesus thinks they were worth dying for.  Think about that one.

            Will you have to bait your own hook?   Most likely.   But God will lead you by His Holy Spirit and show you how, when, and where to fish.  You’ll catch on pretty quick, and in no time, be reeling them in for Jesus.  Each of us has our own particular method of fishing.  I’ve told you what works for me, but you’ll find what works best for you.  We’re all different.  God doesn’t make us all fish the same way, in the same spot.  That’s why in sport fishing, there are thousands of kinds of fish poles, baits, reels, fishing hats, etc.  One size definitely does not fit all.

            One thing I can promise, though, God has equipped YOU to fish for men in your own particular way that will be successful for you, because He wants you to catch as many as you like, and there’s no limit!  Size or color is not important, either.  You don’t ever have to throw any back.  There is no closed season, and you can fish every day!

            Will you get your hands dirty?  Maybe.  That’s the fun of fishing.  But at the end of the day, you will feel like you have accomplished something worthwhile. There is something very satisfying about winning souls for Jesus that you just can’t put in words. 

            What do I do with them after I catch them?  Simple; I stay in touch with them, pray with them, help them find a good church where they can grow strong in the Lord. Then I teach THEM to be fishers of men, just like I’m showing you.  And it all started with the question, “Do you know Jesus loves you?”