THE COMPELLING CALL

THE COMPELLING CALL Matthew 4:12-22 With grateful acknowledgement of these sources of direction and inspiration: the Holy Spirit; the Word of God; Paul Borthwick, Stop Witness…and Start Loving; D. A. Carson, Matthew in Expositor's Bible Commentary; Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah; Michael Green, Matthew for Today February 29, 2004 Given by: Pastor Rich Bersett [Index of Past Messages] Introductory Among the greatest fishermen I have seen at work are not human beings at all, but those awkward looking birds called pelicans. Some years ago, a news release told of some pelicans that were fishing off the coast of California. Working in that same area were fishing boats. The men on the boats were cleaning their catch and leaving the parts they couldn't sell, throwing them back into the ocean near the water's edge. The pelicans observed what was happening and decided that they could just eat the waste without having to work for their food. So for weeks, they sat waiting for the fishing boats to come. They ate their fill, and then left the rest for the gulls. After a while, the fishermen discovered that the waste could be sold also. When they stopped dropping the fish waste into the sea, it caught the pelicans unprepared. They just sat there on the shore and waited. They grew thinner by the day and seemed to be able to do nothing about their sad plight. The authorities concluded it was because they had forgotten how to fish. Then the wildlife officials hit on a plan. They brought pelicans from another area to teach these poor starving birds how to fish again! In our text this morning, we hear Jesus using the metaphor of fishing to describe the church's ministry of reaching others and bringing them into the kingdom of God. My prayer is that we might encounter something this morning in this teaching that will teach us how to fish again. Show segment of The Visual Bible - Matthew 4:12-22. Pray and introduce some "observations". Observation #1 - Everything Jesus did and said was driven by His Mission I want you to see how central and significant to Jesus' life was His MISSION. His "mission" was the ONE THING He knew God wanted Him to do. What was that singular vision? I think that Luke 19:10 summarizes it quite well: "…the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." Jesus was all about finding and saving lost people. With perfect, divine efficiency, everything in Jesus' life was targeted at this mission, this great vision, to see lost people come back to God through His ministry, and secondarily, to see that same thing happen through the ministry of His disciples. His BIRTH (Matthew 1:21) - The angel reassured Joseph that the child conceived in Mary was God's own child. Then he said, "She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus"(Yeshua - "the Lord saves") From his birth, Jesus' life was aimed at saving the world. His very name was selected in the courts of heaven to reinforce His mission: Savior of the world. His BAPTISM (Matthew 3:15) - Jesus tied His own obedience in baptism to the righteous work of God. He who didn't need a baptism of repentance nevertheless underwent the act as a way of IDENTIFYING with sinful people and as the INAUGURATION of his ministry. All He did was aimed at saving people. His TEMPTATION - Read Hebrews 2:14-18 and 4:15-16. The temptations Jesus faced were essential to His saving work, because He had to fully identify with us, undergoing temptations as we do. Thereby, He became our perfect priest. His MOVE TO CAPERNAUM (Matthew 4:12-17) - When John was imprisoned, Jesus moved north to the city of Capernaum, a city strategically near Gentiles as well as Jews. The city would serve as the headquarters for His Galilean ministry. This was a carefully deliberated plan. CALLING HIS FOLLOWERS (Matthew 4:18-22) - When He called these men to follower Him; He didn't say Come and enjoy a life of ease. They were leaving profitable businesses and secure futures. Matthew 16:24-25 "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it." Observation #2 - Everyone Jesus called He called to Mission Ministry alongside Jesus was about to become the new career of these fishermen. A Sports Illustrated article a couple years ago told the story of Denny Brauer. Back in 1980 Denny was earning his living as a mason and pursuing his true passion on the side -- bass fishing. One day he dropped a bomb when he told his wife that he wanted to move from their home in Nebraska to a place where there's "more water," so he could fish on a full-time basis. No more brick-laying; he wanted to be a professional bass-fisher. You can just imagine his wife's delight. But his wife trusted Denny that much and she agreed. As soon as she said, "Let's go," they moved to where the fish were. Two decades later, Brauer had a Saturday-morning fishing show on ESPN, The Bass Class with Denny Brauer, not to mention two instructional videos and a couple of books. He got endorsement deals with so many companies that when he goes out to fish, he looks like a stock-car racer festooned with brand-name logos. In one recent year, Brauer fished in 15 tournaments and made between $600,000 and $800,000 in prize money and endorsements. (Jack McCallum, "Reeling in Dough," Sports Illustrated, Aug. 24, 1998, 40) Bass fishing is big business these days, with fishermen crowding lakes and tuning in to ESPN to watch experts like Denny Brauer do their "flippin' and pitchin'." You can't channel surf very far without coming across at least one show with a man in a boat casting a line and whispering instructions to his disciples. The fishermen of this country love to watch Denny and copy his casting. But here's a question for Christians: Are we equally serious about perfecting our technique of reaching people for Jesus? One of these occupations fills the freezer with fillets, the other fills heaven with souls. The fact is, when Jesus saved you and me, we automatically got a new career. A man once stood before God, his heart breaking from the pain and injustice in the world. "Dear God," he cried out, "look at all the suffering and distress in the world. Why don't you send help?" God responded: "I did send help. I sent you." The mission hasn't changed-we, the 21st century disciples of Christ are still fishing for men, casting the net of the good news, praying for a great harvest and trusting the Lord for the catch. One little girl started playing softball for the first time. She was asked, "What position do you want to play?" "Batter," she answered. In her naivet?she knew she wanted the fun of the batter's box but not the work of the outfield where you had to chase the ball. You see, there just isn't a category for being a Christian but not a witness for Christ. We're on a mission. Look at those Jesus called: PETER AND ANDREW - From the very get-go the mission was the center of Jesus' call in the lives of His followers. Andrew had heard John the Baptist refer to Jesus as the "Lamb of God" and he started following Him, but he wasn't a career Christian yet. The first thing he did, though, was to go and get his brother Simon Peter. Andrew knew immediately it wasn't about hoarding Jesus to himself, but sharing Him with others. (John 1:35-42) Shortly afterwards, Jesus came by the dock where the two brothers were casting their nets and He hooked them with a metaphor: "'...I will make you fishers of men.' At once they left their nets and followed Him." (Matthew 4:19-20) JAMES AND JOHN - Then there were Zeb's boys, James and John. These boys had been hellions in their growing up years, and they weren't altogether out of them! They were tough, seasoned fishermen. Jesus nicknamed them "Boanerges," or "sons of thunder." It wouldn't seem they would be your ideal candidates for full-time ministry. But when they heard the call from Jesus, the Word says, "they left the boat and their father and followed him." (Matthew 4:22) Don't be too surprised when those who seem to be hard sells suddenly come to Christ enthusiastically. The strongest people often have a strong desire to face a challenge, to find something they can really believe in. And the Holy Spirit will use that as bait in to catch them. What earthly reason did these two young men have for leaving a thriving business, and their family? I don't know, but the Holy Spirit knew. And when Jesus called them it was just the right time. Do you know when the "right time" is? It is the very moment when the Spirit of God nudges a believer to share a testimony or a portion of scripture with someone. When those nudges come it means God has been busy setting up a divine appointment for you. Your job is to be tuned in and responsive. YOU AND ME - Then there's you and me. When did God find you and what did He find you doing? Maybe you'd met Him several times, maybe you'd even responded to Him already, but one day you finally HEARD Him, He called you to come live for Him and serve Him. That's when you got up and followed Him. Some here this morning have yet to say YES to the Lord of their lives. HIM AND HER - But there are others-him and her-people out there whom He wants to reach, and His plan is to use us in reaching them. And it makes no difference if you're a fisherman or a bricklayer. When Christ calls you, your new career is Christian. Come in and get lost in this divine adventure. Observation #3 - Everyone Jesus called He called to join with others in His mission The holding place for all who trust Christ and serve Him is called the church. It is more than a holding center-it is "mission central" for His ongoing work of reaching the rest of the lost in the world. The church was His design-a fellowship of the redeemed where they would find mutual encouragement as they engage the hostile world around them. It is a place for God's heroes. And a place to bring new converts. In his book, Jesus, Man of Joy, Shirwood Wirt wrote: James S. Stewart, my beloved teacher at Edinburgh University, said, "Don't be put off by these gloomy caricatures of Christianity. For God's sake, don't judge Jesus, the King of joy, by them! Try the real thing, not that miserable parody of the reality. Make friends with Jesus, stand where Peter and John and Andrew did, and look into his eyes, listen to the music of his voice, answer his challenge, rise and follow." What is God's ultimate purpose? To bring exhilaration and delight to us? No. It is to bring us back to God. And then to give us the greatest joy known to humanity-the thrill of working with our Creator-God is His purposes in this world. You see, the ministry of reconciling the world to God through Christ is not tangential to the church-it is the reason and signature purpose of the church. If a person hangs around the local angler's club, but never fishes, is he an angler? If identifying with the Lord's church is for you an incidental sideline, and sharing Jesus with others is unimportant, you have reason to wonder if you're in His Church at all! Again, Shirwood Wirt's words: The One who made us who wants us back in fellowship with him. He has something in mind for us to do. The Bible is a love letter to the whole world, but it starts with the person who opens it and reads it. It is the message of a Father pleading with his children. It is not some strange vibration out of the cosmos, nor is it a mystical distillation from the zodiac. Its purport is, "Come home, son. Come home, daughter." And it ends with the promise of the Holy Spirit that he will stay with us, will never decamp in rough terrain, and will bring us at our journey's end back to the loving Father who made us and the Jesus who saved us. Here is where the joy enters: That welcoming party will be accompanied by a joy so exquisite in richness that nothing on earth or in heaven can compare with it. You tell me you're not happy, not satisfied with life, afraid you might have missed your true purpose in life? I have some good news for you-you haven't missed anything. Come to God through Jesus Christ and you'll not only discover life that is abundant, hope that is eternal and peace that is unimaginable. You will also find a great purpose-a mission so huge it's worth giving your whole life to! Jesus told the parable of the man who stumbled on a treasure in a field, and that man went and sold everything he had just so he could buy that one field. Being in fellowship with God and His purpose is that treasure. Trade in your hopelessness, your aimlessness and your emptiness for the kind of fulfillment that only God can give-a saved soul and a mission that you can lose yourself in! Jesus' Call is a compelling call-a call to life change and committed involvement in a mission. When He called these men, they knew their lives were forever changed and their new passion would be His passion. President Theodore Roosevelt, a charismatic figure who made quite an impression on people. One journalist, William Allen White, wrote of his first meeting with Roosevelt in 1897: He sounded in my heart the first trumpet call of the new time that was to be.… I had never known such a man as he, and never shall again. He overcame me. And in the hour or two we spent that day at lunch, he poured into my heart such vision, such ideals, such hopes, such a new attitude toward life and patriotism and the meaning of things, as I had never dreamed men had.… After that, I was his man. If a mere mortal can have such an affect on another, how much more our Lord? If we will spend time with him in prayer and in Scripture, we too will find our hearts filled with vision, with hopes, with a new attitude toward life and the meaning of things, and afterwards we too will say with thankfulness, "I am his." We have to get fishing! We are called to it. But it's not a heavy burden or a nagging obligation. It is joy-pure joy-to serve the King of kings! Paul said that it's the love of Christ that constrains us (2 Corinthians 5:14). If you're not in love with Christ enough to serve Him gladly, don't serve Him. Pray that you will find Him and come to know Him at a deeper level. Seek a divine appointment and rediscover His saving, empowering love. That is the first step of your calling. Then the joy of the Lord will be your strength. Conclusion I had considered closing this teaching with a review of how to share Christ with your friends-how to be an effective witness for Christ. Walking us through the method one more time. But I changed my mind. If you want to be a witness for Christ, you will be. You'll find whatever tools are necessary, but primarily you'll just become obedient to Christ and start telling them. Witnessing is an act of courageous   obedience. Most people testify that they learned to swim by jumping into the water. Jump into Christ's mission. Trust the Holy Spirit to do what He said He  would do. Serve your king. Bless your Lord. Serve His purposes. You say you're nothing special? You don't know how God could use you? God is  looking for little heroes, committed believers who are willing to do their part. He  is populating His church with little heroes-Christians who have come to Christ for   salvation and are now interested in doing whatever it takes to bring others in. It's an unforgettable photo -- the raising of the flag at Iwo Jima. If you had to pick 10 photographs to tell the story of our country, this one featuring U.S. soldiers lifting up the American flag would be one of them, never mind that it was a posed re-enactment of the real thing. Iwo Jima is a dot in the Pacific where the United States needed a landing strip for bombers during World War II. 70,000 marines were sent to take it from a dug-in enemy. "The thing I'll remember forever," recounts retired Major General Fred Haynes, "was the courage and the guts of the kids ... and these were young kids." They were kids. But they were also heroes. There are six flag raisers in the photo. The front four are Ira Hayes, Franklin Sousley, John Bradley and Harlon Block. The back two are Michael Strank and Rene Gagnon. Strank, Block and Sousley would die shortly afterward. Bradley, Hayes and Gagnon became national heroes within weeks. What's most amazing is how ordinary each of these heroes was. Mike Strank played the French horn and once slugged a baseball out of Points Stadium in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Harlon Block was an outgoing guy and a daredevil with many friends at Weslaco High School in Texas. Franklin Sousley was a red-haired, freckle-faced kid raised on a tobacco farm in Kentucky. Ira Hayes was an Indian from Arizona who was told by his chief to be an "Honorable Warrior" and bring honor upon his family. Rene Gagnon was just another kid from Manchester, New Hampshire, who ended up being the youngest of the survivors. And John Bradley was a Navy Corpsman from Wisconsin who "just jumped in to lend a hand." So ordinary. But so heroic. Flag raiser John Bradley returned to his hometown in the Midwest after the war, prospered as the owner of a family business and gave generously of his time and money to local causes. He was married for 47 years and had eight children. While Bradley had a public image as a war hero, he was a very private person. He avoided discussion of his war record, saying only that the real heroes were the men who gave their lives for their country. This is so typical. "You won't find a hero who will admit to being one," says Senator John McCain. Heroes consider their uncommon valor to be a common virtue; they see it as a simple duty - nothing that someone else wouldn't have done under the same circumstances. One author asked the question, if heroism is so common, why don't we see more of it? Jesus Christ walked the shoreline of Lake Galilee looking for regular people who would be heroes. Little people who were in need of a Savior, and who were ready to get lost in a cause infinitely bigger than themselves. I wonder how many Christians here this morning are willing to recommit themselves to the cause of Christ? How about it? Is it time for you to say I'm tired of a half-hearted faith. I will serve Jesus and His purpose with my whole heart. If bringing others into the Church is Jesus' mission, it's my mission, too!   [Back to Top]