The Call of Jesus
Matthew 4:18-22
Today is President Lincoln’s birthday, and in his honor I’d like to begin with an imaginary story.
There once was a man who thought that it was a shame that instead of celebrating Lincoln’s birthday like we used to, we now just celebrate the generic President’s Day. This upset him because he thought Lincoln was one of the greatest men to have ever lived. In fact, he so admired Lincoln that he had joined a group of followers called “Linconians.”
These “Linconians” met once a week on Friday evenings (that was the day Lincoln was shot). Their leader was a man with a Master’s Degree in American History. Every week, he would read a selection of Lincoln’s writings, and then give a talk explaining what Lincoln meant and suggesting various ways they could apply these writings to their lives. And of course, on February 12th, Lincoln’s birthday they would gather together for a party and exchange gifts. During this special service they would sing Civil War songs and someone would dress up like Lincoln in a beard and top hat and give gifts to the kids.
This man so admired Lincoln that he owned a beautiful leather bound copy of Lincoln’s complete works – his speeches, writings and letters. He would display this leather bound book on a table by the front door of his home so that other people would know immediately upon entering his home that he was a “Linconian”.
He was fearful of opening this special leather bound book. To him it was priceless and he didn’t want to damage it in any way, so he had never taken the time to actually read or study it for himself. He really didn’t feel the need to personally study the writings of Lincoln. He felt that most of it was common sense kind of stuff like “Do unto others, the golden rule, be nice to people, free the slaves, and so on.” And besides he was faithful to sit and listen to the half hour speech about Lincoln every Friday night.
He once was asked by a curious friend what it was like to be Linconian. He replied that he: “Goes to the meeting every Friday, he celebrates Lincoln’s birthday, he owns a leather-bound copy of his works, and that most of his friends are Linconians, too.”
Not satisfied with this answer the friend asked: “So how has your life changed as a Linconian? What is it like to be a follower of Him? What do you talk about when you get together with your Linconian friends? Do you talk about Lincoln?” His response was “Well I’m just like everybody else. No different. And when my Linconian friends get together we just talk about sports, politics, our families, and so on. The same thing everybody else talks about.”
Of course this is just a silly little made up story, but unfortunately it typifies how many Christians approach their faith. Is this all that God calls us to? Are we meant just to have a superficial relationship with Jesus as some dead guy whom we admire, or are we to follow Him with all our hearts as Lord and Savior? Is the call to Christianity just a call to a set of beliefs, or is it a call to a lifestyle of discipleship?
There is nothing worse than not knowing your purpose in life. And yet how many of us go through life as Christians not knowing what God is calling us to be and to do. When we lack clarity about our calling we are like the London mass transit authority which made a tremendous blunder a few years ago.
It seems that the city’s buses tended to drive right pass bus stops even though there were customers standing in line waiting to be picked up. The London Transit Authority was swamped with a barrage of complaints among the public. When confronted with complaints of the people, they issued a public relations statement which has become infamous. Their statement read: “It is impossible for us to maintain our schedules if we are always having to stop and pick up passengers!”
That transit authority forgot that the whole reason they existed was to ‘pick up passengers’. Instead they lost focus on what was really important and instead focused on the goal of running on schedule at the expense of having any passengers in their buses.
Of course we would say this is stupid. Everyone knows that busses are to carry people. But how often as Christians have we mistaken that our purpose is simply to show up on Sunday, occupy a seat, say a few prayers, read a few verses, sing a few songs and then head home to our lives that are never any different during the week. Is that what being a Christian is all about? Is that what Jesus calls us to?
I don’t think so. I believe the Lord is constantly calling us to ever deepening levels of commitment to Him. Certainly the early disciples experienced this. Peter, James, John and Andrew had been challenged by the ministry and message of John the Baptist. Something in his words had penetrated their hearts and they had longed to know God in a greater way and follow Him more fully. John had introduced these men to Jesus one day, and had encouraged them to spend time with him. He was the promised Messiah.
So slowly at first, these four men had made it a point to be with Jesus. They were moldable, teachable men with open hearts and they were hungry for the Word of the Lord. They continued with their work as fishermen, but whenever they could they would take a break from work and spend time with Jesus. They were growing to love Jesus, and with ever increasing certainty they were growing to believe that Jesus was indeed the Messiah, the promised one of God.
This went on for sometime. Jesus was gently leading them into an ever deepening relationship with Himself. Then one day Jesus gave them a new challenge. His call was a simple one, but it was a call that would forever change their lives.
Turn with me to this calling in Matthew 4:18-22
As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “And I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him.
Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father and followed him.
Jesus calls us and when we obey, we become something new.
1. We are called to follow Jesus.
I want you to notice with me that Jesus did not call the disciples to fish. His call was not a call to more activity or self-effort. He did not call the disciples to perform a duty for him. He called them into a deepening relationship with Himself. Come, follow me!
Remember who this call went out to. It wasn’t a call that went out to the trained religious leaders of the day. It wasn’t a call that went out to the most educated, or best equipped or gifted people of the day. It was a call to the common man, to come and follow Jesus.
Jesus picked fishermen, tax collectors, and rebels to develop a relationship with Him and in the development of that relationship to forever change the world around them.
But I also want you to notice that these men were ready to be called. The four of them had already demonstrated a hunger for God. They had sought out John the Baptist and then Jesus. They had desired to hear the words of the Lord. They were open, teachable, and hard working men.
Yes, they were uneducated. They would be hard pressed to win a theological argument with the Pharisees. But they were eager to learn, and most of all they were eager to BE WITH JESUS.
Notice that Jesus calls them to Himself why they are busy working. Jesus looks for individuals of commitment. He looks for people who are faithful to their responsibilities. He looks for people who are hard at work in service to their families and to others.
In an article written in a 1985 issue of “Pulpit Helps”, a pastor made this observation. He said: “Recently I approached a member of our church for help with one of our programs. Her reply was: “I do not have the time to give.” When I heard her say this I thought of the following comment I had read somewhere:
“God never goes to the lazy or to the idle when he needs men for his service. When He has work to be done He goes to those who are already at work. When God wants a great servant, he calls a busy man.
Moses was busy with his flock at Horeb.
Gideon was busy threshing wheat by the winepress.
David was busy caring for his father’s sheep.
Elisha was busy plowing with twelve yoke of oxen.
Nehemiah was busy bearing the King’s wine cup.
Amos was busy following the flock.
Matthew was busy collecting taxes.
And James, John, Peter and Andrew were busy fishing and mending their nets.
It is interesting that Jesus calls fishermen. Fishing is hard work. Have you ever tried to fish? I have and it usually turns out like a disaster, except for the one time I went to a nursery where all you had to do was throw out your line and their were so many fish they bit onto the hook right away.
These fishermen knew what it was like to be patient. They knew how to study the weather and the patterns of the fish. They knew the different techniques of casting your net and where the best fish could be found. They had worked hard long hours in the art of fishing. They loved fishing. Fishing was their life.
But Jesus was now calling them to something greater. He was calling them to Himself. He was calling them into a relationship that would alter the way they looked at fish and the way they looked at themselves. He was calling them to take their skills and apply them in a different direction, one that would make an eternal difference.
It was a call to follow.
Fishermen, like all men don’t like to follow. They tend to be solitary kinds of individuals. You go to your part of the lake and I’ll stay in my part of the lake.
But now they were being called to a new leader in their lives. They were being asked to submit their ideas and plans to another. They were being asked to learn new skills. They were being challenged to imitate a new way of life. They were being called to a life that would include sacrifice and hardship and suffering, but also one that would be full of new possibilities and blessings.
Jesus was calling them.
The Call is a call to Jesus. Are you seeking Him with all your heart? Are you listening to His call to come, and follow? Are you open to a new way of life, a new way of looking at the world around you? Jesus still calls men and women today!
2. When we are called we must obey!
The response of these fishermen is astounding. They get up at once, leave their boats and nets and father behind and follow Him. There is no hint of hesitation or evaluation or doubt. They just do it!
Now of course, we know that they continued to have interaction with fishing. They didn’t completely stop what they were doing. Sometimes we get the idea that God only calls those who live their families and work and enter into a full-time ministry. But we must remember that God calls all people to different avenues and area of influence.
I need to repeat this again. It isn’t a call to an activity, but to a person! Jesus did not call them to fish, He called them to Himself. A by-product of their coming to Jesus was that He would transform them into fishers of men.
Now the way that they expressed their desire to be with Jesus was that they dropped their nets, got out of their boats, left their dad and went with Jesus immediately. But we know from time to time they would return to the fishing.
And Jesus would use this love of fishing to teach them about Himself and about the world around them.
- He would challenge them to feed a hungry crowd with their meager resources of two tiny little fish.
- He would have them transport Him from place to place while in their boats and they would encounter Jesus calming the stormy sea, and walking on water. They would get to know Jesus as the Son of God while in their boats.
- He would help calm Peter’s anxiety about leaving his business behind by helping him to pay for his taxes when Peter would find a coin of Caesar’s in the belly of a fish.
- He would cook a fish for Peter on the shoreline after His resurrection when Peter was discouraged about the times he had denied the Lord before the rooster crowed.
- And He would help these fishermen get a picture of the harvest when after a long night of fishing without any result, they obeyed and cast their nets over the side of the boat and hauled in 153 fish.
Through fishing they would get to know the Carpenter’s Son in a way that only they could fully understand and appreciate. But know of those lessons would have been possible if they had not gotten out of their boats and obeyed Jesus when He called.
That reminds me of a Poem called “Once upon a pew”
Once upon a pew I sat and heard the preacher ask,
We need someone to teach a class, now who will take the task?
Then God sat down beside me there and said, “Son, that’s for you.”
“But Lord, (said I) to stand before a class is one thing I can’t do.
Now Bill would be the man to call, there’s nothing he won’t do.
I’d rather hear the lesson taught from here upon my pew.”
Once upon a pew I sat and hear the preacher ask,
“We need someone to lead the songs, now who will take this task?”
The God sat down beside me there and said, “Son, that’s for you.”
“But Lord, (said I) to sing before a crowd is one thing I can’t do.
Now John will do the job, there’s nothing he won’t do,
I’d rather hear the music played from here upon my pew.”
Once upon a pew I sat and heard the preacher ask,
“I need someone to keep the door, now who will take this task?”
The God sat down beside me there and said, “Son, that’s for you.”
But I replied: “Saying things to strangers, Lord, is one thing I can’t do.
Now Tom can talk to people, Lord, there’s nothing he wont’ do.
I’d rather someone come to me and greet me on the pew.”
As years just seemed to pass me by, I heard that voice no more.
Until one night I closed my eyes and woke on heaven’s shore.
‘Twas four of us together there to face eternity.
And God said, “I need just three of you to do a job for me.”
“O Lord,” I cried, “I’ll do my job, there’s nothing I won’t do.”
But Jesus said, “I’m sorry, friend, in Heaven there’s no pew.”
When Jesus calls, do you have a heart to follow Him? Will you respond immediately or will you find a multitude of excuses why Jesus wouldn’t want you?
The call of Jesus is a call to follow Him, to know Him, to love and be with Him. When He calls us to follow, we must obey.
3. When we obey, Jesus transforms us.
These fishermen were promised that if they would follow in Jesus’ footsteps, he would take them and transform them into men who were useful for Kingdom work. The transformation wasn’t going to deny who they were at the heart of their being. They would still be fishermen at heart. God doesn’t call us to be something that we aren’t. If you love computers, he won’t make you hate computers. If you are good at decorating and baking and hosting people in your home, he won’t call you to live in isolation.
God took these fishermen who loved to fish, and taught them how to fish for men instead of fish. He met them where they were, at their nets and in their boats and he changed the focus of their lives from earthly passions to kingdom passions.
He gave them new skills: teaching and preaching so that men could be fished.
He gave them a new economy: the catch of men souls grew in importance in their hearts over the catch of fish
He gave them a new measure of success: obedience to Jesus over a boat full of fish.
In what ways could Jesus transform your passion to become the instrument he uses to build His kingdom here on earth? What new muscles of faith does He want to develop in you as you learn to obey Him?
There was a man who was very sick and weak and who couldn’t afford to go to a doctor. The man lived deep in the woods in a log cabin. In front of the log cabin was a huge boulder.
One night in a vision, God told this man to go out and push that huge rock all day long, day after day. The man sensed that this was the call of God, and immediately woke up to obey. He went out front of his cabin and began to push the rock as hard as he could. He pushed it until lunch. And then after lunch he pushed it until supper.
The man loved pushing against that rock. It gave meaning and purpose to him, and he couldn’t wait to see how God was going to use this rock for His glory and honor. Day after day he pushed that rock. Weeks turned into months, and every day he faithfully pushed that rock, but as time wore on he began to doubt the vision. He started to question why God would want him to push this rock. In his doubt he decided to measure his progress. He put a marker where the rock stopped, and each day after a hard day of pushing he would look to see if the rock had moved any closer to the marker.
After a few days of pushing the rock had not moved any closer to the marker, and he sat down on his front porch and began to cry. ‘Nothing! It was all for nothing! How could I be so foolish?”
As the sun began to set, Jesus came and sat down next to the man and asked: “Son, why are you crying?” The man replied: “Lord, you know how sick and weak I am, and then this dumb dream gave me a false hope and I have pushed with all that was in me for many months, but that dumb rock is right where I started.”
Jesus gently responded: “Son, I never told you to move the rock, I only told you to push against the rock.” And Jesus took him to a mirror and asked him to look at himself. As an act of obedience the man stepped in front of the mirror and what he saw amazed him. He had been so sickly and weak, but now what he saw in the mirror was a strong muscular man. The man realized that his cough had stopped, and that over the months of pushing he had grown stronger. Then he realized, that the dream God had given him was not for the rock, but for himself.
You see when Jesus called these men to follow Him, and when they obeyed without question, the transformation began in them. They would become fishers of men. The point never was how many fish would they finally catch. That would be up to their Lord. He determines the catch. The point was that they would be transformed from self-centered, rough around the edges fishermen who stunk with the smell of fish on their clothes, to men of God who became partners with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords in the work of the Kingdom.
Are you willing to come, follow Jesus and have Him do His transformation work in you? That will look different from person to person because we all are different. Some of us will be called to serve on the PTA as a disciple of Christ. Some of us will be called as housewives and mothers to raise godly children who serve the Lord. Some will be called to the work of preaching. Some of us will become computer geeks for the Lord. The direction will be determined by the Lord.
The heart to follow must come from us. Will you come and follow Jesus?
I have a request for you today before I end with a closing illustration. In your bulletin are blue inserts titled: “The Prayer Reach”. Outreach is all of our responsibility, and it begins with prayer. We are putting together a prayer list that we will publish – people we are trying to reach for Christ. We would like everyone to supply at least one name to this list. We will pray over it as a congregation. We will share reports from time to time as to how things are going. By submitting this name you are saying, this is someone I am trying to reach. Pray with me. Take a moment now to fill in the information, and we will collect these names.
- We are called to follow Jesus.
- When we are called we must obey.
- When we obey, Jesus transforms us.
I want to close by telling you the true story of Walter and his church. Walter had been a member of Epworth church for years, but hard times had come upon the congregation. For 3 years every Sunday Walter would arrive at 10:00am, open the doors, and put on the heat or open the windows depending on the weather. He would open the Bible located at the pulpit and select the scripture passage to be read that week. He would read the scripture out loud and then lead in a time of prayer for the people in the community, for national and international needs, and finally Walter would pray for his deer beloved church.
Walter did this week after week, month after month, but what makes this story so unique is that Walter would worship in that little church week after week – alone.
You see the Epworth Church congregation had grown old and most had died off or moved away. Walter was the only one left of the original congregation. So why did Walter continue with his tradition? Why not just close the doors and sell the property? What’s the big deal? Walter could just go down the street to another church.
But Walter had a dream for Epworth Church. He believed God had a divine plan for this building and for his community. He couldn’t just let the church die. So every Sunday for 3 years he faithful opened the doors and worshipped alone. And Walter waited.
Now we don’t understand waiting. It doesn’t make much sense to us. We think we are wasting time if we have to wait for anything. But Walter understood waiting on the Lord differently. To Him it was like receiving word that an honored guest would soon arrive. And so you busily work to prepare you home for this honored quests arrival. You cook and clean, and prepare your home to be just right. To Walter, waiting meant busy preparation for the King to come. Waiting meant obedience and active faith.
After these 3 years, one Sunday morning a young family moved into the Epworth community. They joined Walter for worship one Sunday morning, and there was something about the simplicity of his faith and the quietness of the service that attracted that young family. There was no Sunday school for their children. There was no roster of activities to be involved in, but they sensed the presence of God in that place. And so they kept coming.
Soon the children were bringing their friends with them to church, within in time more families joined and eventually they hired a minister. Today, Epworth Church is a small family church situated between several farms and hidden among the trees. Every summer they offer VBS and each Christmas they perform a pageant for the community. On the first Sunday of August, people come from across the USA to visit the church of their youth and relive the miracle of the old man who refused to let his beloved church die.
Is there a Walter in this room? Is Jesus calling you to come and follow Him? Will you obey, and watch God transform your life into a fisher of men?
