Mark Sermon Week 3

Intro/Welcome

Have you ever felt like you are just drifting through life?

no real direction, not sure where you have been? you are going?

Or maybe you are in a storm right now and you are just clinging to driftwood for life?

Tossed to and fro by the wind and the waves of the sea?

waiting for the storm to pass.

Wouldn’t it be nice to know where you are going?

Wouldn’t it at least be nice to just drift but have a direction?

Wouldn’t it be nice to be on board a vessel that wouldn’t just weather the storm, but continue to take you to your destination?

Today

Today we’ll look at 4 men who were drifting through life

One in particular: a man named Simon

A man who once he met Jesus was never the same.

A man who was drifting through life but was given direction by Jesus

A man who was led by Jesus to God’s destination for his life

A man through all his flaws and failures was repeatedly forgiven and formed into something new.

Jesus simply called him to be his disciple

to follow Him.

Simon’s life is a picture of the life of someone who answers Jesus call to discipleship

a life that that follows Jesus

one that goes from drifter to disciple

and it is a call and a promise not just for Simon

but for everyone who would hear his call.

For you and I.

Do you hear him calling you?

Bible

We are continuing the Gospel of Mark Today

We will be in Mark 1:16-20.

Go there in your Bibles.

My name is Justin, one of Pastors

Welcome you in person and online.

Let me read our text:

Mark 1:16–20 (ESV)

16 Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19 And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20 And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.

Let’s Pray

pray that we would be followers of Jesus

Disciples not drifters.

Follow Me

What we’ve seen so far in the gospel of Mark is

a strange man by the name of John the Baptizer showing up and preaching and baptizing talking about someone greater who is coming

Then we have this man from nazareth getting baptized, doing battle with satan and beginning his ministry of what he called the Kingdom of God

Imagine this were to happen in our day:

a homeless man where a fur coat and a belt standing out here by the river dunking people and preaching repentance

and then another homeless man showing up and preaching that a new Kingdom has come

Last week Jesus began his public ministry preaching “The Kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe”

calling of disciples

demonstration of authority and power

Disease, deformity, demons and display over nature

declaration of the Kingdom of God through preaching a d teaching

He comes across these four fishermen at the Sea of Galilee

Simon, Andrew, James and John

and calls them to “Follow Him”

What would compel these to leave everything behind and follow this homeless, itinerant preacher?

They would leave their jobs

Their source of income

Their families

Their security

What was it about Jesus that would compel these mean to make such a drastic move?

Just what happened that day.

Luke actually gives us a fuller picture of what took place that day.

Let’s look at Luke 5:1-11

Luke 5:1–11 (CSB)

1 As the crowd was pressing in on Jesus to hear God’s word, he was standing by Lake Gennesaret.

2 He saw two boats at the edge of the lake; the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, which belonged to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from the land. Then he sat down and was teaching the crowds from the boat.

4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and let down your nets for a catch.”

5 “Master,” Simon replied, “we’ve worked hard all night long and caught nothing. But if you say so, I’ll let down the nets.”

6 When they did this, they caught a great number of fish, and their nets began to tear. 7 So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them; they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.

8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’s knees and said, “Go away from me, because I’m a sinful man, Lord!” 9 For he and all those with him were amazed at the catch of fish they had taken, 10 and so were James and John, Zebedee’s sons, who were Simon’s partners. “Don’t be afraid,” Jesus told Simon. “From now on you will be catching people.”

11 Then they brought the boats to land, left everything, and followed him.

THE CHOSEN

Anybody a fan of The Chosen?

I was resistant, but now personally I would highly recommend it

It is a great adaptation to the gospels, biblically faithful, and very well done.

I believe it is episode 4 of season 1 that depicts these event

They take some freedom to develop the characters of peter and the storyline

But they really do a good job, very plausible of what might have happened.

Go watch the chosen! It’s great

it has impressed me and more importantly increased my love for Jesus

and my desire to read the gospels.

It may help stir your affections for Jesus

Let’s get orientated:

Here is a map of [Map] of Galilee

Luke says Sea of Gennesaret, mark says Sea of Galilee — They are the same thing.

Here is a picture of the Sea of Galilee

The Miracle

So these ‘learned’ and skilled fishermen have been fishing all night

and they know what they are doing.

Jesus says put out and cast down — and a multitude of fish is caught

This would have been worth a lot of money

Some estimates that it was worth 20 years wages

enough to retire on

This is the miracle that Jesus performed that day.

Simon Peter’s response is appropriate

He has just met Jesus as the Son of God, King of the Universe.

But it wasn’t just the Miracle — it was something about Jesus

The Gospel of Mark

Throughout Mark we will see how people described Jesus.

Mark 1:22 (CSB)

22 They were astonished at his teaching because he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not like the scribes.

Mark 1:27 (CSB)

27 They were all amazed, and so they began to ask each other, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.”

8 Times in Mark the crowds or disciples respond in this way.

There was something mesmerizing about Jesus

The Gospel of John

John the apostle, was another who was called that day.

Towards the end of his life he would write his gospel account and here is how he describes Jesus.

John 1:4 (CSB)

4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men.

John 1:14 (CSB)

14 The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

The Promises of Jesus

But it wasn’t just what Jesus did that day or Who he was:

it is what he said to them.

THE PROMISE OF HOPE

Mark 1:17 (ESV)

17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”

1. He says to follow Him.

then he says what will happen if they will follow him.

2. I will make you fishers of men.

I see two things in this verse:

The promise of transformation

in the words “I will make you”

the promise of transformation

the promise of new creation.

The promise of Destination

what will I make you? fishers of men.

I will lead you to God’s intended destination for your life.

Let’s look at these two promises in the life of Simon

The Promise of Transformation

Jesus says follow me

when you follow me you will never be the same.

I will make you into something new.

Is this what happened to Simon?

Yes in fact, the gospel of John records one of the first things Jesus says to Peter is:

John 1:42 (CSB)

42 ...When Jesus saw him, he said, “You are Simon, son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which is translated “Peter”).

This is significant

Jesus gives Simon a new name — he speaks over him a new identity.

He would transform him from an:

impetuous, speak before you think, stubborn, strong-willed fisherman

into humble, submissive, loving, compassionate strong Leader of the Church — like a Rock.

The gospels are full of accounts of the life of Peter.

John MacArthur — Twelve Ordinary men (39)

Of all the apostles

Peter’s name is mentioned more than any other

No one speaks as often as Peter

No one is spoken to by the Lord as often as Peter

No disciple is so frequently rebuked by the Lord as Peter

No disciple ever rebukes the Lord except for Peter

No one else confessed Christ more boldly or acknowledged his lordship more explicitly

yet no other disciple ever verbally denied Christ as forcefully or as publically as peter did

no one is praised and blessed by Christ the way peter is,

yet Peter was also the only one Christ ever addressed as Satan

The Lord had harsher things to say to peter than any of the other apostles.

Why?

Jesus loved Peter

This love took many forms, but it would transform Simon into Peter

All of that contributed to making him the leader Christ wanted him to be. God took a common man with an ambivalent, vacillating, impulsive, unsubmissive personality and shaped him to be a rocklike leader

humble, servant oriented, obedient to Christ, rejoicing that he would be counted worthy to suffer for Christ.

Peter learned restraint from impulsiveness

humility over pride

Christ exaltation over self-exaltation.

He would later write:

1 Peter 3:8–9 (CSB)

8 Finally, all of you be like-minded and sympathetic, love one another, and be compassionate and humble, 9 not paying back evil for evil or insult for insult but, on the contrary, giving a blessing, since you were called for this, so that you may inherit a blessing.

Experiences

Simon Peter was shaped by is experiences

as he was discipled by Christ

often we are are discipled by our experiences

the good and the bad things in our life rather than Christ who is over them.

Application

Now was this just for Peter? Was Peter the only one to whom Jesus would transform?

No — it is the promise for all those who would follow Jesus

that means it is a promise for you and I

Jesus words to Peter are also his words to us.

Follow me — and I will transform you.

I will make you something new.

If he could do it with a man like Peter, he could do it with you and I.

How?

Notice it isn’t “Follow me and you can change yourself”

no it’s “follow me, and I WILL MAKE you something new”

Peter had to learn that Jesus was Lord and Savior not Peter

So often, we come to Jesus as Savior

but then we take back over our lives.

We try to change ourselves by our own power, thinking that somehow this honors God

But God is faithful to bring us to the end of our own:

self-salvation projects

our own self-sufficiency

and at the end of our ropes

he is standing there saying “follow me, and I will make you something new”

It’s the same thing Paul says in Gal 3

Galatians 3:2–5 (CSB)

2 I only want to learn this from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law or by believing what you heard?

3 Are you so foolish? After beginning by the Spirit, are you now finishing by the flesh?

4 Did you experience so much for nothing—if in fact it was for nothing? 5 So then, does God give you the Spirit and work miracles among you by your doing the works of the law? Or is it by believing what you heard—

CALL TO RESPOND

Where are you trying to change yourself apart from God’s power?

ALL

In your struggle with alcoholism, workaholism, perfectionism, addiction to any manner of things

You cannot fix yourself.

Where are you trying to change others apart from God’s power?

Parents

how are you trying to change your kids apart from God’s Power?

Spouses

How are you trying to change your spouse?

Friends

how are you trying to change your friends? your coworkers?

Confession & Repentance

1. Realization

It will take an in the moment realization

Oh, i’m doing that thing again.

2. A confession

Lord Jesus I am trying to be you again.

I cannot, I don’t have the power to change this part of me, but you do.

3. Repentance

Lord you can change me, by Faith I believe that

I submit and surrender to your processes

FOR ME

this can be as simple as taking a walk around the block.

Getting up from whatever is overwhelming me

and taking it to God

trusting the promises that God gives.

That’s what it looks like to Follow Jesus.

When we do that over time, following Jesus day by day, not only will we experience transformation but he will lead us to God’s destination for our lives.

The Promise of Destination

Mark 1:17 (ESV)

17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”

What did Jesus transform Simon Peter into?

one of the most influential men in all of history

From fisherman from a no-name town in Galilee

to the leader of the apostles, the leader of the early church

A man who would author two books of the bible and provide the material for this gospel of mark

A man who witnessed and performed miracles, saw thousands come to faith in Christ

A man who led the early church the the boundary break realties of the gospel for all peoples

A man who would, in the end, give his own life rather than deny Christ again.

A man who was so humble,

and so worshipful of Jesus that he refused to be crucified right side up,

choosing rather to be crucified upside down

b/c he was not worthy to die like Jesus.

This was the man that Simon became — Peter the Rock.

And this was the Lord’s calling for Peter.

This was Peter’s destination.

Jesus indeed did make Peter into a fisher of men

Application:

What is your destination?

Where are you going? Where does God want to take you?

Are you just drifting through life?

If so, answer the call of Jesus and become his Disciple

“follow me, and I will make you fishers of men”

Matthew 16:24–28 (CSB)

24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will find it.

Discipleship at One Hope

What does that look like to be a disciple? a follower of Christ?

How do we find our way?

Peter followed the way of Jesus

Peter took steps of faith to follow Jesus.

He had to leave his business behind

He had to suffer time away from his wife

he had to deal with divisions and controversies

he spent time in prison, and in persecution.

He became a fisher of me

He became a disciple that discipled others who would go on to disciple others

THE PATTERN

And this has been the pattern of Jesus for the last 2000 years.

Paul says it this way in 2 Tim 2:2

2 Timothy 2:2 (CSB)

2 What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, commit to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.

This is being a disciple that makes disciples

There are three things we need in order to follow Jesus, in order to be a disciple:

God’s Word, God’s Spirit and God’s People.

and it involves all of who we are:

Our head, heart and hands.

Our minds, intellects

our hearts, desires, wills and emotions

our hands — how we actually live our live

So we are going to utilize these three resources and target these three areas.

Disciple making has been happening at One Hope, i want to share one story with you.

Invite my friend Alex Zengotita up here:

introduce yourself

what has your journey looked like over the last few years

what changed at the low point

what next for you? what dies it look like discipline others?

Let’s thank Alex for sharing

I want to give you one way to respond today

As we answer to the call for each us

to follow Jesus as a disciple.

Go to onehop.info or open up church center app

“Click discipleship survey”

Two simple questions.

call to follow jesus

Let’s Pray