1-22-23 Sermon Matthew 4:12-23 "Obedience"

Matthew 4:12-23

This morning I'll be reading Matthew chapter 4 verses 12 through 23. And I'll be reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible. Matthew 4:12-23 When Matthew wrote these words,,, these verses,,, he’s taking us directly from Jesus' temptation in the wilderness to His ministry in Galilee,,, which is where we begin today.

Matthew 4:12–23 (HCSB) 12 When He heard that John had been arrested, He withdrew into Galilee. 13 He left Nazareth behind and went to live in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. 14 This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah, 15 Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, along the sea road, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles!16 The people who live in darkness have seen a great light, and for those living in the shadowland of death, light has dawned. 17 From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near!” 18 As He was walking along the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon, who was called Peter, and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the sea, since they were fishermen. 19 “Follow Me,” He told them, “and I will make you fish for people!” 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. 21 Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and He called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed Him. 23 Jesus was going all over Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. The word of God for the people of God,,, thanks be to God! God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this morning. Let us pray: Dear Lord,,, as we begin this morning,,, with everyone here today and all that are listening and watching by video,,, we ask that you open our ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus' name I pray,,, Amen. ___________________________________ Last Sunday we looked at Isaiah 49:1-7 and we learned that God was trying to get the Israelites attention.

He wanted them to listen,,, hear His voice!

It’s important because we get so busy,,, that we forget to listen!

We can’t hear the voice of God if we aren’t actively,,, and intentionally,,, listening!

We must put God first in our life,,, make Him a priority,,, then spend the time needed,,, reading our Bible,,, praying,,, and using this time to truly listen to His voice so that we know the plans that He has for us,,, and the ways that He intends to use us going forward.

While Jesus was here on earth,,, He spent a lot of time in prayer so that He was always aware of the direction that He was supposed to go,,, and I believe that He did that so that we would know to copy His actions and receive our own directions!

And that’s impossible to do unless we intentionally make time for Him just as Jesus showed us while He was her

It is only when we intentionally work at hearing His voice that we can receive the help that we need,,, as we face the problems that are thrown at us,,, sometimes,,, each and every day it!

And we do that,,, by making time,,, our own quiet time,,, as we focus on His word,,, listening for His word,,, and the directions He has for us,,, each and every,,, day!

This morning we will look at these verses in Matthew and see how they help us in our walk with God this week.

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Verse 12 says: 12 When He heard that John had been arrested, He withdrew into Galilee.

The Judean ministry of Jesus,,, which lasted almost one year,,, is not discussed by Matthew.

This is covered in John and fits between verses 11 and 12.

As I said at the beginning,,, Matthew takes us from the temptation,,, directly to the Galilean ministry.

When Jesus heard that John the Baptist had been put in prison,,, He knew that this was a sign of His own rejection.

In rejecting the message of John the Baptist,,, the people were,,, for all practical purposes,,, rejecting the King also.

But it was not fear that drove Him north to Galilee.

Actually He was going right into the center of Herod’s kingdom — the same king who had just imprisoned John.

In moving to Galilee of the Gentiles,,, Jesus was showing that His rejection by the Jews would result in the gospel going out to the Gentiles.

___________________________________ Verses 13-16 say: 13 He left Nazareth behind and went to live in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. 14 This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah, 15 Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, along the sea road, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles!16 The people who live in darkness have seen a great light, and for those living in the shadowland of death, light has dawned.

Jesus remained in Nazareth until the people tried to kill Him for proclaiming salvation for the Gentiles (see Luke 4:16–30).

Then He moved to Capernaum by the Sea of Galilee,,, an area originally populated by the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali.

From this time going forward,,, Capernaum became His headquarters.

And His move to Galilee was a fulfillment of Isaiah 9:1-2.

The Gentiles living in Galilee saw a great light,,, —,,, “Jesus Christ”,,, the Light of the world.

The Jordan River formed a,,, symbolic boundary,,, of the promised land.

For the people that lived on Jerusalem’s side of the river,,, those beyond it were outsiders.

Jesus,,, who came to seek the lost,,, started here.

___________________________________ Verse 17 says: 17 From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near!”

Jesus was expanding the call of John’s words,,, in preparation for His kingdom.

If you wanted to be a part of the kingdom,,, then you must repent.

Repentance was mandatory if fellowship with God was to be enjoyed.

And we know,,, that the kingdom was near,,, because the King,,, our Lord and Savior,,, Jesus Christ,,, was present.

___________________________________ Verses 18-22 say: 18 As He was walking along the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon, who was called Peter, and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the sea, since they were fishermen. 19 “Follow Me,” He told them, “and I will make you fish for people!” 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. 21 Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and He called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed Him.

This was not the first time these men had met Jesus,,, because John 1:35-42 tells about Jesus’ first meeting with some of the disciples.

Jesus now called these fishermen to leave their profession behind and to begin following Him permanently.

He would take them from fishing for fish and make them fishers of men.

The message of the coming kingdom needed to be proclaimed widely so that many could hear and could become,,, by repentance,,, subjects of His kingdom.

The calling carried with it,,, a cost,,, because it meant leaving not only their profession,,, but also their family responsibilities.

Matthew takes note of this when he says that James and John … left not only their fishing,,, but also their father,,, to begin following Jesus.

Today,,, we are still called,,, and when we are called,,, we need to answer.

It may not involve preaching,,, or anything close to that,,, but whatever you are called to do,,, and wherever it will be,,, all of it,,, will require obedience!

___________________________________ Verse 23 said: 23 Jesus was going all over Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.

The ministry of Jesus was threefold: - here,,, we can see that He taught God’s Word in the synagogues;,,, He preached the gospel of the kingdom;,,, and He healed the sick.

One purpose of the miracles of healing was to give the people proof that He was the Messiah,,, and His ministry made this possible (Heb. 2:3, 4).

Chapters 5–7 are an example of His teaching ministry and chapters 8–9 describe His miracles.

___________________________________ So we can see from these verses that there are many things that we can learn from them.

This morning I hope that we can remember the obedience of the 4 fishermen.

And not only their obedience,,, but the way that they were ready to obey immediately.

They had seen Jesus enough that they knew that there was something different about Him,,, things that they didn’t fully understand,,, although we have heard glimpses of the truth,,, but we know that they don’t understand everything until after Jesus has been crucified and has rose on the third day.

But they knew that He was worthy of their obedience,,, and worthy of all that they gave up to follow Him.

So they immediately followed Him.

___________________________________ Most of you know the way that I ended up in the pulpit,,, and the fact that it took so many years to finally answer God’s call.

The years that I spent trying to please God by partially answering His call,,, until I finally realized that partial obedience wasn’t working!

Yet we see that these 4 fishermen,,, immediately,,, left their fishing gear,,, their family,,, their way of living,,, and their security,,, all to follow Jesus.

We can only imagine the blessings that they are experiencing now!

But I can tell you,,, the blessings that you will experience now,,, because of obedience are great as well!

The joy in my heart as I work each week,,, doing the things that God has called me to do,,, is so satisfying.

I urge you,,, to be sure that you are obedient today.

The sooner the better,,, because the earlier you answer,,, the earlier you can experience the peace and contentment knowing that you are doing the job that God has put you here to do.

As I said earlier,,, it might not involve preaching,,, it might not even involve any type of career change,,, just an attitude change!

Because when you finally answer God’s call the way that these fishermen did,,, it’s the most satisfying feeling ever!

___________________________________ So I urge you to remember these fishermen and their obedience!

Do your best to copy their actions,,, follow their obedience,,, by truly putting God first in your life,,, and living each day for Him!

Because we are still trusted with the same job that these fishermen had,,, to be fishers of men,,, and to do that,,, we must answer in “Obedience” just as they did,,, so many years,,, ago!

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