Know, Grow, Go

Introduction

Brief Welcome.

Go ahead and turn with me to Matthew 4:18 and then also mark a place in Ezra 7:10. We will be in both of those passages tonight.

There is an old Japanese proverb that says, “Vision without action is a dream, Action without vision is a nightmare.”

As disciples of Jesus, if we don’t have a direction and vision of where we are going and what we are trying to accomplish, no matter how much we spin our wheels and seek to do great things for Jesus, we will miss the mark and not accomplish what he has called us to.

On the flip side, if we don’t have practical action steps to carry out and fulfill our vision, no matter how great the goal is, it is merely a dream and fantasy that will never become a reality.

Therefore, as we start up another school year, we must know both our vision and mission as disciples of Jesus and how we we will carry this out in our student ministry at Westwood.

To clarify terms. . .

A vision statement communicates the goals and aspirations of where we want to be and what we want to become.

In short, it is the end goal. . . the final destination. . . it is the “what.”

A mission statement communicates the practical process and action steps that we must do in order to reach and accomplish our vision.

In short, it is the map to help us get to our final destination. . . it is the “how”

So, our vision for Westwood Students is that. . .

We desire to make whole disciples of students who Know Christ, Grow in their relationship with Him and others, and Go into their schools, community, and the world to make disciples of Jesus Christ.

And, thus, based on this vision. . .

We will accomplish it through helping our students cultivate a love for God and others through studying the Bible, confessing and holding to the core Beliefs of the Christian faith, which will allow the Holy Spirit to conform their Behaviors into the image of Christ.

This mission emulates Jesus’ mission and the commission he gave to each of his followers before he ascended into heaven.

Matthew 28:19-20 says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey all I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

So, our mission as Christians and students at Westwood is to be disciples of Jesus and then to go and make disciples for Jesus.

Yet. . . this implies the question that we must answer tonight. . . What is a Disciple?

Simply put. . . a disciple of Christ is someone who leaves everything behind and follows Jesus.

As simple as this statement is. . . we often fail at the task of following Jesus faithfully.

I think the biggest reasons for this failure is because we let our sin get in the way and weigh us down. . . but also because we don’t realize and understand the blessing and joy of following Jesus.

Yet. . . the wonderful truth that we will see tonight from our text in Matthew 4:18-22 is that through Jesus’ gracious call to follow him. . . we will have the strength to leave our sin behind, and he will make us into disciples who joyfully make disciples as we find our delight in him.

Let’s now read this passage together:

Matthew 4:18-22 “While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.”

In this text, we see Jesus do three things in calling the first disciples. . .

First, He calls the fishermen to follow him (Know).

Second, He promises to conform them to his will (Grow).

And last, He commissions them to make disciples (Go).

So, looking at verse 19, Jesus first calls these fisherman to know him by following him

1. The Call to Follow-Know (Head).

Leading up to our story in verses 18-22, the two passages prior tell us of Jesus resisting the temptations of the devil and then beginning his public ministry.

In verse 17, Matthew tells us that Jesus began preaching and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

So. . . to demonstrate what “repentance and living in the Kingdom of God” looks like, Matthew then tells us the story of how the first disciples left everything behind to follow Jesus.

Now, looking back at our text, we see Jesus walking along the sea and noticing four fisherman. . . Simon Peter and Andrew who were casting their nets into the sea and James and John who were with their father Zebedee on the boat.

At two different instances, Jesus ushers the call to “Follow” or “come after” him.

One thing that Jesus’ call reveals is that before we come to “know” Christ as Savior and Lord, we must first understand that we are already known by him.

Jesus is the one who created us, he fitted us together in our mother’s womb along with the Father and Spirit, and he knows us intimately

Ephesians 1:4 says that God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him.

Thus, because he made us and knows us, he is the one who initiates a relationship with us.

Jesus chose the disciples and called them to follow him. . . not the other way around.

This call would actually be abnormal in Jesus’ day, for normally disciples chose to become students of a particular rabbi, rather than a teacher calling and selecting his own disciples.

There was nothing special in the first disciples, and there is nothing special in us.

Therefore This passage teaches us about God’s character in that he is loving and gracious. . . it teaches us about his conduct and concerns that he loves sinners and desire a relationship with underserving people.

The call to follow and know Christ demonstrates the abundant grace of God. . . and it foreshadows the ultimate act of love he would display in Christ dying for us even while we were yet sinners.

Unless Jesus would have initiated the call by his grace, the fishermen would have never followed him.

But to respond to this call, we must know what it means to “follow” someone. . .

To follow someone in Jesus’ day meant to learn from them, to obey them, to trust them, and to imitate their life and teaching.

It meant to become their disciple. . . it means that we know Christ and have a relationship with him.

Knowledge is gained by association before it is understood through explanation.

In our other passage in Ezra 7:10. . . Ezra “set his heart to study the law of the Lord,” he dedicated his will and affections to intentionally study all of God’s commands so that he could know God.

The word “know” means to have an intimate knowledge of something or someone. It involves the mind, will, and affections.

In short, to know God means to know him intellectually in our minds, and intimately in our hearts.

As a Christian, the greatest thing we should desire is to know the Lord.

Jeremiah 9:23–24 ESV

23 Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, 24 but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.”

Philippians 3:7–10 ESV

7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,

Tonight, do you know Jesus as your King, master, savior, and friend. . . or do you only know about him and that he is those things?

2. The Promise to Conform-Grow (Heart).

After Jesus calls his disciples to follow them, next, he promises to conform them to his will.

Notice that Jesus does not say, “follow me and become fishers of men,” but “follow me and I will make you fishers of men.”

When we choose to follow Jesus, He transforms us by his Spirit, he makes us a new creation, He turns us into an evangelist, and He gives us the strength and ability to make disciples.

So often we feel that we must change ourselves to live for Jesus or to even come to him.

We are afraid to share the gospel, so we must try harder. . . we fall again in temptation so we must try harder. . .

But don’t forget, we are commanded to follow him and once we receive his gracious offer through faith, he promises to conform us to his will. . . he promises to transform us by his Spirit. . . he pledges to turn us into fishers of men!

Guys, we must believe that Jesus really does have the power to change us and make us disciple makers!

By GROWING in our relationship with Jesus, through spending time at His feet, through listening to his word, by speaking to him in prayer, the Holy Spirit will make us a faithful disciple who makes disciples.

Going back to our other text in Ezra 7:10, this is the same pattern we see in Ezra. . . for after Ezra came to know the Lord through setting his heart to study his law, he then began to obey and do all that God commanded him. Knowing God in his mind and heart led to the Holy Spirit conforming him to the image of Christ and produced an obedient lifestyle.

When Jesus calls us to himself, he doesn’t call us to change ourselves first, but make no mistake, He will change us.

If anyone is in Christ, he is a new Creation (2 Corinthians 5:17).

But for this transformation to happen we must follow after him. . . we must walk side by side with him. . . for we cannot be conformed to his will if we let our sin weigh us down that would prevent us from following him.

A healthy fruit tree cannot grow and produce fruit if it is not connected to the soil and has good roots.

To Grow in our love for God and love for others, we must first have our roots firmly planted in knowing God through Christ.

Tonight, are you allowing Jesus to transform you by his Spirit through the spiritual disciplines of Scripture, Meditation, and Prayer in the Church Community?

The Commission to Go.

The last thing Jesus does in calling these first disciples to follow him is that he commissions them to go and make disciples.

If Peter, Andrew, James, and John follow him, he promises to change them and equip them to fish for people.

This commission demonstrates what Jesus cares about most. . . bringing as many people as possible into his kingdom.

Jesus could have commissioned the disciples to be religious leaders, to be governors, to be educators. . . but instead he commissions them to be fishers of men.

Our God desires all people to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. . . and we should seek to have that same desire as well.

When Jesus gives the command to make disciples in Matthew 28:20, he says this not only involves sharing the gospel, but also teaching them all that Jesus has commanded.

The last phrase in Ezra 7:10 sums up this command. . . for after Ezra knew the Lord through his word, and grew in his love for God through obedience to the law, he then went and taught all of Israel God’s commands.

Therefore, making disciples is hard work, its not easy, and its often messy, but it is completely worth it.

Contemplate what Jesus is calling us to. . . the God of this universe is inviting us to join him as co-laborers in the task of bringing people from all nations into his kingdom!

That is what Paul meant in 2 Corinthians 5:20 when he said “we are ambassadors on Christ’s behalf.” As disciples, we are called to represent King Jesus and the principles of his Kingdom in the way we think, speak, and act.

And by doing this, with the help and power of the Holy Spirit, we will make disciples for our majestic king!

You may be overwhelmed at the thought of this task and think there is no way you can do this. . . well the truth is. . . you are right. . . none of us can in our own strength.

However, Jesus will always provide the grace we need to complete the mission he has called us to. . . and he also promises to always be with us as we seek to cast our nets and draw in many fish for him.

Response

So how will we respond tonight to Jesus’ call to follow him, promise to conform, and commission to go?

First, we must be willing.

verse 20 says, “they immediately left their nets and followed him.”

What is stopping or hindering you from being willing to follow Jesus and know him as your king, master, savior, and friend?

Second, we must be available.

We must make ourselves available to Jesus so that he can transform us.

What is stopping or hindering you from making yourself available to allow the Holy Spirit to transform you so you can grow in your love for and obedience to Jesus?

Third, we must be intentional.

Who’s your one. . . prayer, care, and share.

Jesus will take care of the rest.