Have you heard the call of God on your life?
How will you know or how do you know?
Matthew 4 and Matthew 9 contain three examples of people who
were called directly by Jesus. Let’s
look at these passages and see what we can learn about God’s call.
Matthew 4:18 says:
One day as Jesus was walking along
the shore of the Sea of Galilee…[i]
Here is what we know about the Sea of Galilee today:
The Sea of Galilee is Israel’s
largest freshwater lake. The sea is
about 13 miles long and 7 miles wide, but only 150 feet deep, and it lies 650
feet below sea level. The Sea of Galilee
is currently surrounded by Israel from about the 3 o’clock position to the 12
o’clock position, and by the Golan Heights from 12 to 3. It’s a primary source of drinking water for
Israel as well as a popular area for recreation and tourism. It is fed by the Jordan River, which then
drains to the south and flows to the Dead Sea (aka: Salt Sea). Lately, a lack of rain has threatened the
water level in the Sea of Galilee and induced the proliferation of desalination
units. It’s also a significant site in
the New Testament.[ii]
Jesus spent much of His three-year ministry on the shores
and land surrounding this very lake. In
the days of Jesus, Galilee was also a source of food. Peter and his brother Andrew owned their own
boat, and made their living by fishing on the Sea of Galilee. (Luke 5:3 refers
to Jesus sitting in a boat owned by Peter.)
James and John worked with their father, Zebedee, in the family fishing
business.
At the beginning of His public ministry, Jesus was baptized
by John in the Jordan River. Then,
immediately after being baptized, He was led by the Holy Spirit into the
wilderness to be tested. After His
testing, Jesus began preaching, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the
Kingdom of Heaven is near.” (Matthew 4:17)
He also chose disciples to be with him and so that He might send them
out to preach. (Mark 3:14) His first disciples came from Galilee, where
His ministry began.
Galilee was a normal place.
It was like your hometown or my hometown. People lived, raised their families and died
there. God does not go to exotic places
in search of exotic people. He comes to
normal places, places like where you are right now, and calls normal people.
Matthew 4:18 tells us:
One day as Jesus was walking along
the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers--Simon, also called Peter,
and Andrew--throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living.
Jesus was on the shore of Galilee, and He saw two
brothers. This seems like a chance
meeting, but it was not. Speaking to the
prophet Jeremiah, God said, “I knew you before I formed you in your mother's
womb. Before you were born I set you
apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.” (Jeremiah 1:5) This was true of Peter and Andrew, the two
brothers Jesus saw. This is true of all
of us. Your meeting with Jesus was no
accident. Peter and Andrew were throwing
their nets into the water. Fishing is
what they did for a living. This was a
normal day for them. They were going
about their everyday business. Jesus
interrupted their lives. The call of God
comes to us when we are going about the normal path of our lives.
Jesus’ call is to “Follow Me.” He gives this call to all, but few listen and
fewer heed. The first thing we notice
about Jesus’ call to follow is that it is an interruption. For Peter and Andrew, James and John, and
Matthew, who we are looking at today, Jesus’ call was an interruption. They were busy. They all had things to do and they all
presumably had plans. Jesus’ call is
rarely convenient. It is often
uncomfortable and it always calls us to leave something behind. For Paul, it was an interruption on the Road
to Damascus. He left behind His pursuit
of righteousness through works.
Let’s consider Jesus’ call to Peter and Andrew. Matthew 4:19-20 says:
19Jesus called out to
them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” 20And they left their nets at once
and followed him.
Verse 18 just told us they made their living by
fishing. What did Jesus mean by “fish
for people?” Was this how they were
going to make a living? It sounds
intriguing. However, Jesus asked them to
leave their regular employment and step out in faith.
Hebrews 11:6 says:
And it is impossible to please God
without faith. Anyone who wants to come
to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely
seek him.
The call to follow is always a call to faith. God may or may not call you to leave what you
are doing, but He will always call you to trust Him.
Peter and James left their nets and followed Jesus. Matthew 4:21-22 continues:
21A little farther up
the shore he saw two other brothers, James and John, sitting in a boat with
their father, Zebedee, repairing their nets. And he called them to come, too. 22They immediately followed him,
leaving the boat and their father behind.
If the call to give up their livelihood was a call to faith
for Peter and Andrew, the call to give up the family business was a call to
loyalty for James and John.
They were in the boat with their father. Mark 1:20 says they left their father in the
boat with the hired men. They had a
family business, and they left it. This brings
to mind Luke 14:26 which says:
"If you want to be my
disciple, you must hate everyone else by comparison--your father and mother,
wife and children, brothers and sisters--yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple.
Or, Matthew 10:37 which says:
If you love your father or mother
more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine; or if you love your
son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of being mine.
The call of God on our lives is a call to commitment of the
deepest kind. It has always been
thus. At the very outset, when God gave
the Law, He said:
4“Listen, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. 5And you must love the LORD your
God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. (Deuteronomy 6:4-5)
This is a call to a mutual commitment. God has already given His one and only Son
for you. Jesus loves you so much He
chose to die for you. He loved us first.
Peter and Andrew show us faith. James and John show us loyalty. If we look at Matthew 9:9-13, we will see
repentance.
9As Jesus was walking
along, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to
him. So Matthew got up and followed him.
10Later, Matthew invited
Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax
collectors and other disreputable sinners.
11But when the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples,
“Why does your teacher eat with such scum?”
12When Jesus heard this,
he said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do.” 13Then he added, “Now go and learn
the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer
sacrifices.’ For I have come to call not
those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”
Notice that Matthew’s friends were disreputable
sinners. Notice that Jesus says that He
did not come to call those who think they are righteous.
When Jesus calls us, He calls us first to change our minds,
to view things from God’s point of view.
Matthew had a good thing going. He apparently had a big house because he had many
guests over. He apparently had a staff,
because certainly he did not prepare all that food himself. He apparently had influence, because many
disreputable sinners and tax collectors gathered at his table. In addition to giving up the money, house and
influence, Matthew had to change His mind about what was important. He had to acknowledge that what he was doing
was sin.
When asked if they think they will go to heaven, most people
will say yes, and the reason given is they believe “I am a good person.” Jesus’ statement is:
“For I have come to call not those
who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”
The message of John the Baptist and then the message of
Jesus was:
“Repent of your sins and turn to
God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.” (Matthew 4:17)
It is normal to believe what we are doing is right, and to
insist on doing things the right way, which usually means my way. However, the call of Jesus is to do things
His way.
God’s call requires us to trust Him. It requires faith.
God’s call requires us to commit. It requires loyalty.
God’s call requires us to change our minds. It requires repentance.
Salvation is free.
Call on the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved. However, the call of God on your life and
mine is all-encompassing. Jesus calls us
to follow Him.
[i] Unless
otherwise noted Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living
Translation. Copyright © 1996, 2004,
2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used
by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Steam, Illinois
60188. All rights reserved.
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