Will you answer the call
Notes
Transcript
Good morning
How is everyone
Glad to have you all back
Good to see all of the smiling faces
So just curious,
How many of us are taking leave for block leave
ok ok
So by way of announcements
We won’t be having church service
Until the 10th of JULY
So me and the family
Will be headed up to England
Because as you all know
We are set to PCS here over the next few months
So we are trying to desperately get out and travel
As much as possible
And I hope you all are doing the same
But anyways
Lets get down to business
So today we are going to be going over
The call to discipleship
But before we start off there
I wanted to tell you all a story about my child hood
And I am sure if you have a child
Especially boys,
You’ll be able to relate to this story
So growing up
My great grand parents actually lived in North Dakota
And I only remember a handful of times that we actually visited up there
But what I do remember though is that it was full of excitement
If you can imagine, a small town
That was completely safe for kids,
A place where you could literally just take a bike,
Go for a walk
And have absolutely no worries about anything
I mean you’re talking about a town
That virtually had no crime
And to my knowledge didn’t even have a police station
So for a little boy and his cousins that were all boys
This town was a dream
By show of hands
Do you all remember playing with black cat fireworks
M80s
you know maybe tying an insect to a bottle rocket
May going fishing or snake hunting
This was my child hood up there
And I remember these were some of the best times
But I also remember doing some incredibly stupid stuff
Stuff that I look back on now and just laugh
Because in all honesty
I got the belt for some of this stuff
but more specifically I remember one day
My cousins and I decided it would be a good idea
To help out with the cooking
And well Grandma had decided she was cooking spaghetti that night
And so as she went up stairs and the noodles were boiling
We decided to see if they were done
And how many have ever thrown a noodle at the wall
To see if it cooked
Well we decided to not only throw the noodles at the wall
But all over the ceiling, doors, floors, etc...
So then around the corner my mom walks with my aunts
And I remember having trouble sitting down that night
For obvious reasons
But you know
Stuff we do as kids that seem appropriate at the time
Stuff that we look back on and ask ourselves
What was I thinking....lol
But what I’m trying to get at is our unique ability
To make decisions
Through following the wrong crowd
Maybe our desire towards ambitious discipleship
Through the wrong influence
And whats incredible is that we play this role
Through our entire lives
We don’t have to be kids to proverbially
Throw spaghetti all over the ceiling
Am I right
But today I want to direct that focus
That attention
Towards a better option
More specifically your decision to follow Christ
Because lets face it
As a kid we have the incredible ability to follow
Anything and everything
I mean kids are like a sponge
Especially when it comes to the wrong influence
But throughout our lives
It’s almost like when it comes to the good things
The things that help us
we loose our spongy ness…lol.
We loose our ability to absorb the good stuff
Especially when it comes to Christ.
And that what I really want to go into to today
I want to take a deep into what discipleship really looks
and what a true encounter with Christ really means
Along with the benefits that come with excitement of going all out for Jesus
And so today we are going to going over Mark chapter 1 verses 14 through 20
So if you would open up your Bibles
Later on, after John was arrested, Jesus went into Galilee, where he preached God’s Good News. “The time promised by God has come at last!” he announced. “The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!”
One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” And they left their nets at once and followed him.
A little farther up the shore Jesus saw Zebedee’s sons, James and John, in a boat repairing their nets. He called them at once, and they also followed him, leaving their father, Zebedee, in the boat with the hired men.
Lets open in Prayer
So what I find interesting is the immediate context
Or the immediate story line that Mark draws us to
In Verse 14 where it says that after John was put in prison Jesus went into Galilee
To preach the Good News.
In the parallel story the book of Matthew
Says it slightly different saying
That when Jesus Heard that John had been put into prison he returned to Galilee
To preach the Good News.
And what I really want you to take notice about here in this particular story
Regarding John
Are the details that are missing
That we will see in later passages
More specifically on the arrest of John the Baptist
Because there is an incredible lesson to be learned
When it comes down as the to the question
Of why
Was John arrested
And I don’t want to go too deep into it
Because we will spend some time here later on
but turn with me real quick to Mark 6:14-18
And lets just read these few verse because it really opens up
What discipleship is
What devotion is
What true servitude to God means and what we are in fact
Being called to
Because I think we fall into this trap in modern day Christianity
Where being a Christian is easy
Where God’s purpose for my life is never to suffer
That I just have to “live my best life”
And when you run into this mind set
This mentality
You begin to run into issues
On a side note, that saying, living my best life
It comes from one of the biggest prosperity gospel pushing pastors out there
And it caught on so quick
And it shows you wear the maturity level of modern Christianity truly is
And in reality
It just gives us a bad name
It gives our entire faith the wrong focus
and It leads people to a false Gospel
Either way I don’t want to go down a rabbit hole here
But look at the predicament that John had gotten himself into
Lets start off at Verse 14
Herod Antipas, the king, soon heard about Jesus, because everyone was talking about him. Some were saying, “This must be John the Baptist raised from the dead. That is why he can do such miracles.” Others said, “He’s the prophet Elijah.” Still others said, “He’s a prophet like the other great prophets of the past.”
When Herod heard about Jesus, he said, “John, the man I beheaded, has come back from the dead.”
For Herod had sent soldiers to arrest and imprison John as a favor to Herodias. She had been his brother Philip’s wife, but Herod had married her. John had been telling Herod, “It is against God’s law for you to marry your brother’s wife.”
If you didn’t catch that
Maybe you’re a bit unfamiliar with the story
John the Baptist was so devoted to the ways of God
He actually called out a King, a supposed fellow jewish brother,
He called him out on his immoral behavior
He actually called out a King for stealing his brothers wife
Can you imagine walking up to a king
Looking him dead in the eyes
And telling him
You can’t sleep with your brothers wife
It is a sin
I mean really think on this
Johns devotion to the ways of God,
John’s devotion to calling people out
For their obvious sin
To holding them to the standard
To keeping people on the straight and narrow
Not only rubbed people the wrong way
But in fact got him killed
And really think about this
The context of the story here
John had some bravery to him didn’t he?
He was a man of conviction
A man of determination
A man who so focused on God
That
In fact Christ called him the greatest ever
I mean how many of you would stand up to a king
Who is obviously an immoral individual
Probably someone you would want to mess with
But then straight up tell him
Maybe even straight up knife hand him
Telling him
You can’t do what you’re doing
What you’re doing is a sin
That’s crazy in my honest opinion
But it shows you the level to which
John was at
And let’s stop right there for just a second
How many of us shy away from even the slightest confrontation
Simply because we don’t want that awkward feeling
That awkward moment
How many of us shy away from calling someone out on their sin
Even when we know we should
But we don’t want to the confrontation
Believe it or not what John is doing is biblical
and its actually responsible
Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself.
Some may call John’s behavior crazy
Some may say this man had a death wish
And yet in reality John was simply being obedient
To the commands of God almighty
And ladies and gentleman
There are going to be times in our lives when we run into issues such as this
Times when we as a family
As a church
Have to sit down
Have that hard conversation
And confront another brother or sister in Christ
On their sin
On their own behavior
And of course,
These are some of the most awkward conversations to have
And yet this is what we are called to do
To hold each other accountable
And please don’t get me wrong
I’m not saying you should be a karen and start calling everyone out
For every little thing
But when you see a man cheating on his wife
When you see a woman cheating on her husband
And you say nothing
The example in this story
Is telling us that being a child of God is not easy
That being a disciple of Christ is not easy
We’re gonna come back to this story about John in a later message.
But it’s the example of John
That’s sets about the requirement for discipleship
The requirement for leadership in the faith
And an understanding with regard to the reality of how the world will treat you
When you hold them to a biblical standard
And because you’re a child of God
Thats what I really want you to understand today
Being a disciple of Christ
Being an obedient servant of God
Is not easy
Following Christ is not easy
But at the same time,
When you encounter Jesus in a way
That John did,
You can’t seem to help it
You can’t seem to help wanting
Needing
desiring
To live your life on mission for Jesus
And I hate to say friends
But
You as a born again Christian
Are never going to hit your God given potential in Christ
Unless you surrender to the calling on your life
And become that obedient disciple that God requires of each and everyone of us
Let me say that one more time.
You as a born again Christian
Are never going to hit your God given potential in Christ
Unless you surrender to the calling on your life of obedience
I fully understand the hesitancy
The reluctancy in the calling
Because believe or not
Nearly all of the disciples hesitated as well
And this is what I love about the Bible
Because the characters are real
They had real emotions
Real issues
And I think this where we get a bit mixed up if we don’t fully understand
The entirety of the story here
The full context of the story
We begin to think it was easy for the disciples to follow Christ
We begin to think that there is something wrong with us
Simply because I don’t have that ability to just walk away from everything
And yet that’s just not the case
And this is what I truly love about the Bible
Because the main characters are just like you and me
Look at verse 16
One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” And they left their nets at once and followed him.
It almost looks as though they just magically hopped up and followed Christ
Didn’t even give it a second thought
But what you’re not seeing is the entirety of the back story
And I think one of the biggest mistakes that we can make is to look at these two men
As having nothing to lose
Looking at them as just some blue collar
Backwater individuals that weren't’ really giving anything up
Because they were so poor anyways that when they decided to follow Christ
It wasn’t as if they weren’t going to take a financial hit
And yet this couldn’t be further from the truth.
The reality it is
The more you understand this culture
And the more you understand the people
You begin to understand they were giving up a whole heck of a lot
They were giving them a family run businesses,
Income for their wives and children
They were giving up a sense of security and control
They were pretty much trusting in God
Completely and entirely to go and live a nomadic lifestyle.
And please don’t take this the wrong way
I’m not saying that you have give up everything you own
And start living like a homeless person
But what I want you to see
Is that there was something about Jesus
Something about the encounter that truly caused these men
That caused John
To evaluate everything they counted as valuable
Everything they counted as familiar
And they gave it up in the pursuit of the will of God
I mean really think on this
You have the opportunity
You have the benefit
To participate in God‘s plan for the World
When you really break that down
What could possibly be more exciting
More motivating
Than being on mission for the one
You will spend eternity with
You want to get that MQ
Maybe that top block NCOER
Promotion in life
You have the chance to participate with your senior rater
And so many of us are passing it by
For the sake of living a comfortable life
Or a life without controversy
You know and I get it
So many people will say
I can’t be used by God
I haven’t had that awe moment
Or that profound experience
That the apostle had
And this is where i really want you to pay attention
Because this is one of the biggest mistakes we make
In the body of Christ
NOT EVERYONE IS GOING TO BE USED IN THE SAME MANNER
NOT EVERyONE IS GOING TO HAVE THE SAME EXPERIENCE
When you look at how each of the disciples
Each of the apostles responded
God came to them in a different manner for each individual
A calling that was tailor fitted to who they are
What their personality was
Look at Peter for example
God knew that he was a controlling man
God knew that he was a fisherman
And if you look at the book of John
It took an incredible miracle for Peter to jump on board
For Philip God used John the Baptist
For Nathaniel God used something incredibly personal
Not every one of us is going to have the same experience
And I’ve seen this time and time again
We feel as though we have been abandoned by God
Or we have been failed by God
Because we haven’t had the same experience that someone else’s had
And I’m happy to say that when you look at the examples int he Word of God
That’s just not how God works
So I don’t want you to walk out of here feeling like a failure
If you haven’t had the same experience as the person next to you
And that’s the beauty of our God
He’s personal
He knows you as an individual you are accepted and loved by God
Because of who you are
Not because of what your neighbor is or has done
And I want to start a transition here for just a second
because when you see a person living out
Who they are in Christ
You see something beautiful happen
You see them start to grow in their mission for God
And not to seek any glory for my self
But I see this in my own family
Actually my extended family
I have a couple cousins that have dedicated their lives
To what they truly feel God has called them to
And I think was about 20 years ago they felt God calling them to become missionaries
To Cambodia and Thailand
And I wanna show you a few pictures here,
Because it’s amazing when you answer the calling of God,
When you’re walking in what you’re supposed to be doing.
You can literally see the hand of God move
In whatever ministry it may be.
You can see people respond
You can see things move in real time,
and you look at this ministry here
And here’s a couple who has devoted their entire life
To what they feel God has called them to be.
Their entire life‘s focus is on sharing Jesus
With those who may have never heard of him before.
To go to places where they are less than comfortable
But far more valuable
They find love and the benefit of community
In the church.
And what I find absolutely incredible
Is it when you see people going to these places.
They never mentioned or complain about how they miss technology
or the comforts of life,
NO
they boast about what God is doing
in a place where most will never go.
About how wonderful it is
To see the hand of God moving
In a Third World country
Where people may not have medicine
Maybe don’t have regular food and water,
and I’ve known so many people that have done this type of ministries
And not a single regret.
Whether it be a secret of missionary in North Korea
Or off of an island in Turkey
Or even missionaries who have witnessed
To the drug cartels in Mexico
And to the victims of such violence
Who have been victims of gang rape
Maybe watching their parents be killed right in front of them.
And once again
I’m not saying that everybody’s calling is the same
Or that everybody has to do this type of ministry
But each of us can answer the call on our own lives
And participate in the kingdom of God
But guys I’m gonna say one more time
You cannot fulfill your God-given destiny in Christ
Unless you are willing
To answer the call
And so as we dismiss today
I want to ask have you even inquired what he wants of you
And are you willing to listen.
There’s a lot of work to be done
And the workers are few
But there are many that need the love of Jesus today
I urge you as a church to
Get up
Get out
And let’s answer the call
Lets close prayer