Follow Me
Matt 4:18-20
18 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. 19 "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." 20 At once they left their nets and followed him.
NIV
Follow Me
(Matt 4:18-22)
Intro:
A. The ministry of Jesus began in the Judean countryside. John the Baptist was teaching about the coming kingdom and baptizing people in the Jordan River. John had some followers, disciples, who saw him as a great prophet of God and wanted to be like him. But John had a purpose, and that was to prepare people to receive Jesus as the Messiah.
B. One day, as John was teaching, he saw Jesus and said to those around him, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” It would have been a strange statement to make. A person was called a lamb. A person was called an atoning sacrifice. A person was replacing the entire sacrificial system. The words were not some simple little statement, but a profound revelation that Jesus would do what no animal could do.
C. The next day John was standing and two of his disciples were next to him. As Jesus walked by John said to his disciples, “Behold the Lamb of God.” Now listen as God tell us what happened next (READ John 1:37-39a).
D. I want you to notice that these two men walk away from John and physically followed Jesus. Jesus invited them to come to him and stay with him. Keep reading (John 1:40-42). I wanted you to see this because the first time Andrew and Peter are around Jesus is down in Judea when Andrew was a disciple of John the Baptist.
E. Now, jump forward a short time, John the Baptist is in prison and Jesus is in Galilee teaching in the synagogues the same message John had been preaching in Judea, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” It is here, up in Galilee that God continues to tell us about Andrew and Peter. (Read Matt. 4:18-19).
F. Understand that in Judea they spent time with Jesus, but life goes on. We don’t know why they were they were in Judea, but now they are back home, making a living as fisherman when Jesus seeks them out.
I. Follow Me
A. Here we are beginning a new year. Let’s be honest, 2020 was a year of strong emotions. It was a year of division, sometimes even in families. It was a year that left many feeling alone, isolated, hurting. It was a year in which some believe Christians were tested and failed to be what Christ called us to be. 2020 was a year that many people are happy that it’s over and are looking forward to this year being a year when we can get back to normal. But is normal where you want to be as a Christian?
B. When Andrew and Simon met Jesus in Judea, they stayed with him, Jesus even gave Simon the name Peter, but while that might have been a spiritual mountain top experience, life needed to get back to normal. They left Judea, returned to Galilee and to the family business of being fishermen. In fact, another set of brothers where their partners and also people who had a deep love for God. They were the sons of Zebedee who we know as James and John.
C. This group of four fishermen knew that life needed to continue even though they encountered Jesus in Judea. They knew that you needed normalcy, money, a steady job to have the life God wanted you to have. They knew the pain of fishing all night and catching nothing; and the joy of Jesus telling you to cast out into deep water and pulling in a catch so great it was began to break your nets.
D. As Matthew, Mark and Luke all tell this story of Jesus calling these men, I am challenged to think about the facts of my own life. I am one who loves encounters with Jesus. I love the mountain top experiences that happen in worship or exciting spiritual retreats. But Sunday comes and goes and even though I am the preacher, Monday comes for me just as it does for you. I have to get back to the real life, my job for which you pay me.
E. Then Jesus comes into my life and asks me to do what seems like is impossible, follow him. Jesus sought out these men and Jesus does the same with me. It may not be as dramatic as it was then, but Jesus seeks for me to have a deeper relationship with him than just what happens on Sundays when we gather together.
II. Responding to the Call
A. As I listened to God speak to me in this scripture, I was called upon to ask myself how I respond to the calling of Jesus to “follow him.” I need to really examine what it that phrase means and what my response (1) should be and (2) is in reality. So I read the passage in the three gospels to see what these men did.
B. READ Matt. 4:20, Mark 1:18, Luke 5:11. It makes no difference what English translation you want to read from, the response was the same (immediately, at once) they left their nets and followed him. Following Jesus is more than a religious experience. It more than what happens when we come together on Sunday. It more than the religious high that comes from a special event or Camp Concern or a mission trip. Following Jesus is when I walk away from what I trust to meet my needs and fully rely on Jesus to meet my needs.
C. I don’t have to walk away from my job to follow Jesus, but I do have to make sure my job doesn’t interfere with making Jesus the Lord of my life. I have put aside the notion that the things of this world meet my needs and realize they are simply gifts from God as I walk with him in humility, obedience, and surrender.
D. Following Jesus is more that calling myself a Christian on social media. It is giving up everything, not because I have to, but because I believe that what I gain is far more valuable than what I give up to get it. Living in the kingdom is the pearl of great price.
III. A Fishing Story
A. As many of you know, Kerri and I love to fish. In fact, I would say she loves to fish more than I do. But I really enjoy our Canadian fishing trips. Nothing against PA or the lakes in the USA, but I grew up going to Canada and fishing for Northern Pike. They were the gators of our fishing trip.
B. When the kids were young, we took them to Canada to experience what I did as a kid. Kerri and I were casting for Northern Pike and we asked the older ones to just let their worm drag along the bottom as we floated. Elizabeth caught a small perch. She tried to get it off the hook but couldn't and I really didn't want to stop fishing to get it off until we finished that pass through the bay, so I asked her to just throw it back over and let out some line and see what happens. My intention was to distract her so I could fish. It was long until she let out a yelp! "I got something!" Sure enough, that girl had caught herself a 22 inch Northern Pike. She was excited. The truth is, I was excited for her. Today, she still likes to fish and wants to go to Canada on a fishing trip.
C. Jesus knew the excitement that came when he told the guys to let their nets down on the right side the boat even though they didn’t really want to. But what happened was a miracle, and they knew it. Their catch was so big that it took two boats and all four fisherman to bring in the fish.
D. But Jesus took that excitement to new level. He told them, “Follow me I will make you fishers of men.” Follow me and your life will forever be changed. It would be the joy of catching fish in your net, it will be the joy of seeing people caught up in zeal for being a disciple of Jesus.
Conclusion:
A. Their lives were forever changed from that one moment. They had to make a decision, do they leave the safety, comfort and stability of their life to follow this Jesus or do they just enjoy the spiritual retreats and keep their life their own? They chose to leave their nets and follow Jesus.
B. What about us. Here we are in 2021. With limited stability in this life and limited security of finances, we have to decide, do I just want Jesus on Sunday and days that bring me spiritual joy; or I am willing to give up my belief of security in this world to gain the reward of being a follower of Jesus.
C. In just a moment we will sing we what we often call “the invitation song.” I hope you will sing this song with meaning in your heart. I hope you will let the words be your commitment to Jesus as we seek 2021 to be a year in which we have decided to follow Jesus. Let’s stand together and sing, “I have decided to Follow Jesus.”
Because of Jesus,
Jeffrey Dillinger, minister