As we continue to retrace the Steps of Jesus, it was extremely important for us to spend one week examining a very important realization that hit me, while I was both by and on the Sea of Galilee.
During our two week stay in Israel, we spent the first week in and around the Sea of Galilee. Our hotel was located in Tiberias, a seacoast city by the Sea of Galilee.
And on Saturday, May 28th, we had scheduled for the day a boat ride across the Sea of Galilee. Prior to leaving for Israel, I shared with you during a message on Jesus life that on one occasion he slept while he was on a boat during a storm and that I was hoping for a storm during our boat ride across the Sea of Galilee. Well it didn’t storm during our boat ride, but it was cloudy and on the morning of the 28th it rained a little bit on the day of our boat ride (it was the only day that it rained during our entire time in Israel), which I couldn’t help but think that this was God smiling down on my pilgrimage.
While in the boat, it was truly phenomenal to try to take in the sounds, the smells, the sights of the Sea of Galilee. To try to imagine being in the boat with Jesus and to try to imagine what it would be like to have seen Jesus walking across the sea and to actually be like Peter and try to follow Jesus example of walking on the water toward him.
And by the way, there is an amazing exhibit in a museum next door to the Sea of Galilee that shows a 2,000 year old fishing boat that was rescued from the bottom of the Sea of Galilee.
As we looked at this incredibly old boat, it was fun to try to imagine was this one of the boats that Jesus rode in or was it one that Peter, Andrew, James, or John either owned or fished from.
But back to my boat ride on the Sea of Galilee, which is not as big as I had imagined. The lake is 12 ¼ miles at the longest point and 8 ¾ at the widest point of the lake, and is in the shape of a harp. We motored out to the center of the lake, and then our leaders had instructed the captain of our boat to shut off the engines.
While we floated in our boat in the middle of the Sea of Galilee, one of our trip leaders, Tom Jones, asked us to look at the shore of Galilee and at some of the sites that we had visited the two previous days and he asked us to visualize Jesus walking along the shore and calling people to follow him.
He then asked each of us in our group of ministers, to share with our group our initial call to follow Jesus and specifically for us to share our call to ministry. It was a powerful time to hear of how God had worked in each of these guy’s lives. Personally, I shared how that growing up, I had regularly attending Church, but it wasn’t until I was a college student, that I understood that I was personally called to follow Jesus. And then I shared that due to a terrible stage fright experience that I had when I was in my early teens, that I had resolved that I would never be able to work in any type of work that required public speaking. And yet after I became a Christian, I had a message on my heart to share with others and felt compelled to begin sharing, teaching, and preaching with others the difference that Jesus Christ had made in m life.
With this personal experience as our backdrop, let’s read together about Jesus and some of his first followers and their …
Initial Call
One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers—Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew—throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” And they left their nets at once and followed him.
A little farther up the shore he saw two other brothers, James and John, sitting in a boat with their father, Zebedee, repairing their nets. And he called them to come, too. They immediately followed him, leaving the boat and their father behind. Matthew 4:18-22 NLT
Let’s make some observations of this initial call made to Peter, Andrew, James, and John:
The first is that Jesus took the initiative. He called out to them. He invited them to follow him, not because they deserved to be called but because they needed the good news that he had for their lives. What is the application? Jesus calls us to a personal relationship with him not based on our goodness, but upon his goodness. It is a calling of grace!
Secondly, the call is to follow Jesus! Not simply to believe in Jesus, but to actively follow him in life. I like what author, D.A. Carson wrote in his commentary on this passage. He wrote, “His followers were not just ‘hearers’; they actually followed their Master around (as students then did) and became, as it were, trainees.” – D.A. Carson
You see Jesus didn’t call people to simply be hearers or church attendees, but he called us to be disciples (students) or followers of His! Now here is the obvious question: Have you accepted Jesus call in your life to follow Him? I am not asking: do you believe in Jesus, do you attend church, do you read your Bible. What I am asking you this morning is the following:
Have you accepted the call to truly follow Jesus? Let me repeat that question:
Have you accepted the call to truly follow Jesus?
And are you actively following him now?
A third observation in this text is that this is a calling with an accompanying mission and that is to become a “fisher of people!” Jesus uses a powerful analogy with these professional commercial fishermen. Up to this point you have been fishing for fish, but now I am calling you to begin to fish for people. He is saying up to this point fishing for fish has been your profession or main focus of life, now I am going to give you a calling of greater meaning and that is to fish for people.
Important note: It is important that we recognize the language that Jesus uses here … “I will show you how” or as some versions read, "Come follow me, and I will make you fish for people." Here is the good news, if we accept Jesus call to follow him, God’s Spirit (or the Holy Spirit) will make us or transform us into someone who is able to in turn to influence others to also follow Jesus. Sometimes people put off making that initial decision to follow Jesus because they think I don’t know if can live that life or calling. But the good news implied in Jesus call is that if we accept his call, He will miraculously intervene in our lives to transform us and make us into something we are presently not! Don’t wait until you have it all down to begin to follow Jesus, because the truth is that you and I can’t follow Jesus by our own power, you and I need God’s spirit to intervene in our lives!
A final observation from this text is that there was an immediate response to Jesus invitation by Peter, Andrew, James and John. Now some have suggested that this is not the first time that they encountered Jesus (Luke 5 and John 1) were previous encounters with Jesus. And yet on this occasion they responded immediately and radically to Jesus call. They left their nets (which represented their business and means of income) at once and followed Jesus.
Let’s go back to this call to follow Jesus and seek to define a little bit more precisely what it means to follow Jesus. Well here is the good news, as Matthew continues his description of Jesus ministry along the shores of the Sea of Galilee, he defines what Jesus and his first followers were doing in that region …
Follow Jesus
Jesus traveled throughout the region of Galilee, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness. News about him spread as far as Syria, and people soon began bringing to him all who were sick. And whatever their sickness or disease, or if they were demon possessed or epileptic or paralyzed —he healed them all. Large crowds followed him wherever he went—people from Galilee, the Ten Towns, Jerusalem, from all over Judea, and from east of the Jordan River. Matthew 4:23-25 NLT
Jesus went throughout the region of Galilee, which one commentator wrote would have included 204 cities and villages and the Roman historian Josephus said could have totaled more than 3,000,000 people. And as Jesus and his followers traveled throughout this region, he did three things. What were they?
He taught … He announced Good News … and He healed people.
Now what does it mean for us to follow Jesus …
Well I believe we are all called to follow Jesus example of teaching. Now you might think, well I don’t have the gift to teach. Well it might be true that you don’t have the gift to teach publicly, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have the responsibility to teach with your words, your actions, and your attitude what it means to be a follower of Jesus. If you have children and/or grandchildren, you are called to teach them. As I have shared before, I love Francis Assisi’s famous quote: “Preach the gospel always … and use words when necessary!”
We are also called to follow Jesus example of proclaiming or announcing good news to others! We live in a world that is bombarded with bad news! Have you ever roomed with, worked with or lived next to someone who always looked at life with a negative world view. Someone who could see the dark clouds in every silver lining! Growing up, one of my grandmothers had that type of disposition. I would go visit her and say... it’s a beautiful day outside today, and she would say yes but it is awful humid, or there is a chance of rain later today. I would say, grandma dinner was great and she would say well the mash potatoes were too lumpy! No matter how hard you would try to encourage her, she would turn into a negative.
Followers of Jesus are called to be light and salt in a fallen world full of bad news. Followers of Jesus are called to remind others of the good news of God’s love, God’s presence and God’s promises in this world! And to share with others that He is still at work today in people’s lives in a powerful way. Are you seeking to share that good news with those you work with and those you live around? Are you taking advantage of opportunities that are provided here at the church to share the good news of God’s love with others? … In the bulletin today, there is a description of an opportunity coming up later this month to participate in a free car wash in the community. Just another opportunity to show God’s love and God’s presence in the community!
I like how Peter would later describe Jesus life in Acts 10. "Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.” Acts 10:38 NLT
It seems to me that one very practical way to follow Jesus in our lives would be to pray and look for practical ways every day and at least every week, to do something good for someone who is presently living far away from God to communicate to them God’s love! What will be your acts of kindness or service this week? Intentional Acts of Kindness …not Random Acts of Kindness
And finally, Jesus went from town to town healing people. I am not suggesting that we have healing gifts today, although I am confident that we can bring healing into people’s lives by coming along side people, listening to them, and praying for them. It is interesting to note that in this text the phrase in the language that the Bible was originally written describing Jesus healing ministry is the Greek verb, “Therapeuo,” which is where we get our English word “Therapy.”
Sometimes people need to go to a trained therapist, but sometimes all people need is a caring friend who will care, listen and pray. I have to confess that sometimes I find myself in conversations with some one that I don’t have a clue what to say. Sometimes all I say is “wow … that is a tough one!” … I am going to be really praying for you and even better yet … could we pray about that together right now. You see I don’t have to know the answers but point them to the One who does!
Now some of you might say … well we have to accept our limitations and realize that we aren’t Jesus. And although I agree we have to accept our personal boundaries and limits, we also have to take to heart what Jesus taught in John 14, when he said …
“I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father.” John 14:12-13 NLT
Now I am not suggesting that we will be able to perform miracles as Jesus did, like walking on water or creating a mass amount of food from a couple of fish sandwiches. But the collective impact in the world of Jesus followers can be of greater magnitude than he accomplished while he was on earth. If every follower of Jesus gathered here today would take to heart this message and say, this week I am going to follow Jesus and look for ways to bring light and good news into people’s lives that I live around and work with. And to practically look for ways to carry out specific acts of kindness this week to individuals who are presently living far away from God as a simple way to show them God’s love! If every follower of Christ would take that to heart then collectively we can have a great impact!
There are two things that can hold us back from responding as these first followers of Jesus did:
One is procrastination: It is easy to say well I eventually plan on following Jesus and become a fisher of people, but just not right now. This is a busy time of life, I am in school and the pressures are great, my job is very demanding and I am trying to get my career to that next level, our kids are young and very needy, etc.
As a church if we aren’t careful, we can put off following Jesus and making disciples in our community by saying well, when the new church building is open, then we will really begin to influence others. But the truth is Jesus calls us to an immediate response: Listen to what he said:
Jesus said: My food is to do what God wants! He is the one who sent me, and I must finish the work that he gave me to do. You may say that there are still four months until harvest time. But I tell you to look, and you will see that the fields are ripe and ready to harvest. John 4:34-35 CEV
Let’s not wait until the Worship and Community Center is completed to begin to get serious about leading others to Jesus. Let’s look for practical ways throughout this summer that we can carry out acts of kindness. Let’s all be praying for opportunities to share with others the good news of how God is working in our lives and in our church and encourage others to come and see what God is doing in the life of the church while we continue to worship here in the YMCA, so they too can experience healing in their lives! In fact, this past week I began to dream again of how many people we could influence as a church if every follower of Jesus worshipping in this place would truly …
Accept Mission that Jesus has given us!
Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:16-20 NIV
If you are a follower of Jesus have you accepted the mission that Jesus has given you and that is to make disciples? If every disciple of Jesus, or follower of Christ, would accept their lifelong mission to make disciples, then we would really begin to see that collective worldwide impact in our day greater than what Jesus accomplished while he was on earth!
Earlier, we talked about the danger of procrastination in accepting this mission. Another big obstacle is being overwhelmed with the mission and task at hand. It is easy to say well I am just one person and there are so many people who aren’t following Jesus… How can I make a difference?
The story is told of a little boy who came across thousands of star fish that had washed up on the ocean shore.
And of course star fish can’t survive outside of water, so the little boy recognizing this fact began to throw one by one back into the ocean. An older man was watching this unfold and asked the little boy … Do you really think you can make a difference in this huge catastrophe. And the little boy, held up one of the star fish and said, I can make a difference for this one!
Sometimes I get overwhelmed with the task at hand of trying to take the good news of Christ to a community and an entire region. But I am reminded that in the overwhelming task of bringing a community or region to Christ, we can start one by one making a difference by leading one other person to Christ!
While I was on the boat in the middle of the Sea of Galilee, we were also asked by our group leader, “Will you continue to accept Jesus call to follow and will you call others to follow Jesus?” And I answered in my heart with an emphatic … YES! I wrote in my journal, “I am not sure [exactly] what it will look like yet, but I resolved on the boat in the Sea of Galilee to renew my passion and calling to make disciples of Jesus!”
How about you? Will you accept Jesus call in your life? … To be a disciple and to make disciples! And remember it begins with helping one other person that right now is living far away from God!
Let’s Pray!
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