Follow Me ( Fisher's of Men)
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Welcome and Good morning my friends…
I pray you’ve had a good week!
Here we are the first week of March. Hard to imagine, and the official start of spring is but about 2 weeks away.... Yay!
I know through many of our conversations you are definitely ready for warmer weather…
Now this morning we are returning to the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew carries a theme of the King is coming...
We began this study in Matthew chapter 3 and with it we examined the baptism of Jesus. It was the first time he was on the scene since He was found in the Temple speaking with the religious leaders when He was 12.
Jesus is baptized by John and as He came up out of the water we saw the Triune God displayed.. Jesus in the water, God spoke from heaven and the Holy Spirit comes as a dove.
Then Jesus is led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted.. this was necessary that Jesus might fulfill Scripture as in Hebrews 4:15
Now today, we return to Matthew 4 as Jesus steps out to teach and preach that the kingdom of God was near…
So lets start with verses 12-17 in Matthew 4
12 Now when he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee. 13 And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
15 “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—
16 the people dwelling in darkness
have seen a great light,
and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death,
on them a light has dawned.”
17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
As we begin today, I want to share 3 thoughts with you today..
A Call to Change, A Call to Follow Him & A Call to Multiply
As we begin today with this first point I want you to see that Jesus message has always been the same… It’s a call to change.
1. A Call to Change....
1. A Call to Change....
So the Scriptures tell us that as John the Baptist was arrested, The Scriptures tell us that He spoke about against Herod. Herod had taken his brother’s wife to be his own, and for that reason Herod had John thrown into prison.
With this event, Jesus withdrew into the region of Galilee and our Lord comes to the city of Capernaum.
Now Capernaum is a special place, you can still visit there today and walk where Jesus walked. The city sets on the northwest corner of the sea of Galilee. It was a fishing city if you will, but more than that, it conducted a great deal of trade as well.
Capernaum will become a home base for Jesus if you will, a mixture of Jewish, Roman and other people lived in and around the city. So it is here in this area and in the city that Jesus begins to teach and preach.
And this is itself a fulfillment of Scripture, what was said in Isaiah 9, verses 1-2..
And Jesus is preaching...
Look again at verse 17
17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
The word Preach… means to herald, to proclaim loudly. The message that Jesus came to share was not something He kept quite. No! He was sharing it with everyone who would listen.
And what was that message..
The end of verse 17 says “… Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
The word “repent” means to have a change of self (heart and mind), that change renounces the former ways and puts a person in a new direction. I was headed this way… it was leading to death, spiritual death and now I am going the other way, the way that leads to life.
Jesus said “...I have come that you might have life and have it more abundantly.” John 10:10.
And then the second part of that message says “… for the kingdom of God is a hand.” Literally the domain of God, His presence is drawing near.
How is it drawing near? The Messiah is with them.. Jesus the Son of God.
Like the message of John the Baptist who was telling the people… get ready God is getting ready to show up… Jesus is proclaiming the same but the world has yet to understand He is God and He is preparing to release the world from their sin.
It was a call to change… make preparations.. while there is still time..
You my friends have a message, Jesus changed your life. You can tell that to the world and call them to come and find out for themselves.
I was a lost young man, I realized I had sin in my life that would prevent me from entering heaven and seeing those who had gone on before me.. I wanted to be saved, I wanted forgiveness. I called out to Jesus and He saved me
And if you are here and you don’t know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, understand that as you sit here today, God is tapping at your heart, you feel it, you sense He is here.
Call out to Jesus and ask Him to give you life, life eternal.
This bring me to my second thought for today...
2. Jesus Called for People to Follow Him....
2. Jesus Called for People to Follow Him....
Here is an important truth my friends...
Jesus called people to come and follow Him…
We see this truth in Scriptures. He began with those who would walk right alongside of Him for those 3.5 years, ( His disciples later known as Apostles)
Next would be those who would believe along the way, those who would come seeking Him and the message He shared with the world.
Now lets return to the text here in Matthew chapter 4, verses 18-22
18 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. 19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21 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. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
Remember where He is at, He is just outside the city of Capernaum, there on the shore line of the sea of Galilee. It’s a fishing community and there are men with their boats, working, repairing and some fishing with nets.
So Jesus sees two men close by, Simon who is known as Peter and his brother Andrew. And Jesus called them to come and follow him..
Now we know from the testimony of the Scripture that John’s gospel tells us that Jesus has met these brothers once before, when Andrew and Simon were followers of John the Baptist.
Let me share with you John 1, verses 35-41
35 The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38 Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” 39 He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. 40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ).
So here we see the formal calling of these men.. Jesus says come and follow me and I will make you fishers of men, and verse 20 says immediately they left their nets and they followed him.
Jesus called then and they made a decisive decision to follow Jesus.
The word follow is important… the meaning there is more than just the action of letting a person lead you in a direction.. it goes much deeper.
Following Jesus carries the intent of allowing His ways, His teachings, to permeate the heart and mind so that you are imitating Him along the way of life.
In truth a person has made Jesus their life in every way, they want to be like Him in all things.
Let me stop there and ask you are you a follower of Jesus?
Now this is more than saying I believe in Jesus. Believing in Jesus is a work of the mind, seeking Him involves the heart. It is where you realize your need to be saved, you realize that you are a sinner and without Jesus, there is no hope of heaven, no hope of anything good.
People tend to think I’m a good person, I’m honest, I’m kind, etc… That is not enough, we come into this world a sinner and without Jesus we are destined to destruction, death and yes, Hell.
So realizing our need to call out to Jesus asking Him to forgive our sins, to make us His, to save us and write our name down in the Lamb’s book of life that we might have the promise of heaven.
And then once saved, we are to do our best to make his ways our ways. That is the purpose of a disciple, we want to be like Jesus in all things in all ways.
Now people tell me we aren’t supposed to talk about politics and religion, Politics and religion are taboo.. bologna.. we talk and gossip ( you heard me say ti) about everything and everyone.
The call is for us to hush that up and talk about Jesus something is wrong down deep in us.
Man He is the best thing that happened to me… Others need to know Him
And if you go a little further - he saw two other men verses 21-22
21 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. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
James and John, the sons of Zebedee, and they were with their father mending their nets and Jesus told them to come and follow him. They left their nets and father and went after Him.
Craig Blomberg, a great theologian said - When Jesus calls a person to discipleship, there is no excuse for delay or disobedience.
We are to follow Jesus my friends, we are to be His disciples as well.
Now just one last thought...
3. A Call to Multiply
3. A Call to Multiply
I want to call you to remember something special, do you remember of your children or a child you are very close too?
Do you remember just how precious that day was… I remember the birth of both my children, I was right there… It was one of the best days of my life…
My freinds, there is something just as special when we see, witness a child of God experiencing the “new birth” the birth from above.
But that will not happen if we do not invite others to come and follow Jesus.
So lets back up and look at what Jesus says in verse 19… What did Jesus say? He said “... follow me and I will make you fishers of men”, verse 19
They were men who sought to gather fish for their families and communities but now He is going to have them gather people, for the kingdom of God.
They were to go about with and without Jesus at times and preach and teach the Kingdom of God was near. They were to invite people to come and follow Jesus. Later in the New Testament, the Apostle Paul went into the synagogues and preached about Jesus as the Son of God who came and died for the sins of the world.
That was Paul’s greatest role as a servant of the living God, it was to tell others about Jesus.
You see our greatest role and goal as a born again believer is to spiritually reproduce our lives, as productive citizens of the Kingdom of God.
That message is meant to be shared so that others might hear and follow as well.
The term Fishers of Men seeks for us to catch men and women for God’s kingdom, our nets… it is the gospel message.
We are called to be that, a fisher of men.
Here is another question...
Are you willing to be a fisher of men… women, boys and girls are all invited to the kingdom of God, will we go and tell that we might help gather a good harvest into the Kingdom of God.
And if you say that is not my job Preacher, that’s yours - my friend you are wrong. Jesus said each of us, together is to be His witnesses… Acts 1
This fact is why Jesus came and why He called others to come and follow Him, so they could call others as well.
Now just one last quick thought… as Jesus begins calling His disciples, He is also teaching and preaching about the Kingdom of God.
Lets look at the last 2 verses , 23 to 25
23 And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. 24 So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them. 25 And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.
As Jesus is traveling throughout the region of Galilee, people begin to hear about this man named Jesus.
Jesus is preaching and teaching in the synagogues and in public, He is healing those who are brought to Him, Jesus is casting out demons who are oppressing people and leaving them helpless.
And the people, those who hear about Jesus are coming out from all the surrounding areas, North and South, East and West to see Jesus
Jesus message and miracles authentic the message that He preaches to the people… And they are following and believing.
Do you believe in Jesus?
Have you trusted Him as your Lord and Savior?
If you haven’t or your not sure, today make sure…Let Jesus in and bring you peace that passes all understanding...
Lets pray