Good morning, Happy New Year! Welcome to Big Valley Grace Community Church — so glad to start the year off worshiping the Lord together; it’s why we’ve gathered. If it’s your first time, or maybe it was your first time very recently and you’re back again with us today, we just want to say welcome; we’re really glad that you’re here. We’d love to meet you; our team would love to meet you. My name is Joel; I’ll be in the Welcome Center right after the gathering; I’d love to introduce myself, have you introduce yourself, and us begin to build a bridge of relationship. So we’re glad that you’re here. And I’d like everybody just to look at somebody in the face and say, “Great job — you made it to church on the first weekend of the year.” All right, that’s right, there you go — all right, we’re all already winning; this is great; this is great.

The New Series: The Calling

Today we begin a new series entitled “The Calling,” where we’re looking at how Jesus called people to follow him. We’re going to look at it over four weeks, Lord willing. The first week, this weekend, we’re looking at the disciples — specifically the twelve disciples whom Jesus called to be apostles, and how he called them. Next week we’re going to be looking at how Jesus called to everyone in the crowd, and that created a great division: those who rejected Jesus and those who accepted Jesus. The third week we’ll look at how even as the creator of the universe and Supreme Being over all, Jesus still had time to call an individual, and look an individual in the face, and be right there, present with someone in their situation, their circumstance, and their issue, and call them to follow him. And then week four we’ll look at how Jesus is calling us — you and me, now — to continue in the call to follow after him.

The passage that we’re going to begin in this weekend — we’re actually going to be looking at a passage from all four of the gospels, but the first passage is Matthew chapter 4. So if you have a Bible, you can turn to Matthew chapter 4. If you need a Bible, we’d like to give you a Bible today. We have a room over here; there’s a sign over the room; it says “The Altar” — it’s a room we have set aside for prayer. If you’re here and you need prayer, please come; bring those who are with you; come — our team will be ready to pray with you. We also have Bibles in that room; we would love to give a Bible to you at no cost; the church has purchased them so that you can have them; we want to make sure everyone has a copy of God’s word.

And our text, Matthew 4 — we’re going to be looking at verses 18–22. It’s actually mirrored almost identically in Mark 1:16–20, so you can look at that as a reference if you’d like; we’re not going to look at the Mark passage, but just know that these two passages are recorded in Scripture; they’re almost word for word. And it’s the first passage we’re going to look at when we get into our teaching.

A Church Family Budget Update

But before we get into our teaching, I want to give a little bit of a church family budget update. So if you are new, you’re going to just observe a little bit of a family-business moment for us as a church. We had been updating our church all through December, and I want to give you an update today. I don’t want to miss the opportunity to update you, and really it is to praise God that he has answered our prayers and to thank you, our church family, for the way that you have responded for the budget need to supply for our gospel ministry here. We are still tabulating all the year-end giving, due to the way that things are postmarked and checks come in and all of that, but we know that our December goal was reached, and this is fantastic for us as a church family; it’s really great. The way that our fiscal year runs is from July 1 to the end of June, and so we’re at the halfway point, and we have met our goal at the halfway point; we are on track. And we know that many individuals and many households gave extra so that we could meet this goal in the month of December. And it’s our desire that all glory would go to God, and we would give him thanks, and we would give him our gratefulness, and that we would recognize that he has been working in individuals and families in our church family — which includes you — to bring gifts to the Lord, to continue to be his supply, his provision, so that we can keep going after the vision that God has given us.

And I want to have an opportunity to pray and thank God, and I’ve chosen a passage to guide the prayer; it’s from 1 Chronicles 16:28. So if you’ll join me in prayer — I’m going to read this passage in an attitude of gratefulness for how God is working in our church family and he’s supplying for us as a church family. So, Father, we pray: “Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples; ascribe to the LORD glory and strength! Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering and come before him! Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth! Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved. Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let them say among the nations, ‘The LORD reigns!’ Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and everything in it! Then shall the trees of the forest sing for joy before the LORD, for he comes to judge the earth. Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!” We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, and all God’s family said, amen. Let’s throw gratefulness to God for what he’s doing in our church — it’s awesome; it’s awesome.

Follow Me — Matthew 4:18–22

So together we begin the new year; we start the new year; we want to start the new year with Jesus. And a question that we ask as a part of the leadership of the church is, as we enter into January, how can we teach in such a way in the month of January that it will help us move towards taking more ground with our God-sized goal, which is to glorify God through exponential discipleship — disciples making disciples making disciples making disciples? How can we teach, how can we study, in such a way in the month of January that will propel us forward in that goal? And so that’s why we’ve laid out the series the way that we have laid it out. And the question that I would ask you as we begin, before we look at our text, is this: how has God initiated a personal relationship with you? Think about moments that have happened in your life — moments that have been significant, moments where you sensed the Lord was coming after you — and consider: how has God initiated having a personal relationship with you?

In our text, in Matthew 4:18, it says: “While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he” — Jesus — “saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.’ Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 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. Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.”

This passage is a really clear picture that Jesus is coming after people. He’s not just going for a stroll by the sea; he’s walking by the sea — he’s on mission, and he’s coming for them. Jesus sees people, and Jesus pursues people, and Jesus calls people. And from this text we can see that there’s a really clear starting point that Jesus initiates the calling with, and it is two words, when he says, “Follow me.” When Jesus says “follow me,” it makes it very clear that our role is to follow and his role is to lead. And it’s also really clear there’s no one else to follow, because there is no one else to lead: follow me.

One of the things that I think is an incredible danger about a New Year’s resolution is that often the New Year’s resolution starts with me, as opposed to having the New Year’s resolution start with Jesus. And because I failed last year, I will fail again this year, because what I did got me what I got, and I’m doing the same thing, and I’m going to get it again. And there’s a really clear starting point that leads to transformation, which is what this passage is describing, and that starting point is Jesus. He’s the only starting point; he’s the only leader; he’s the only one to follow. And he includes in the calling how the transformation will come about. He said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you” — not “you will make you,” not “you will fix you,” not “you will change you,” not “you will transform you,” but “I will make you.” There’s a transformation that’s going to come about; it’s not going to come about by us; it’s not going to come about by these fishermen doing it to themselves. Jesus says the starting point is you have to follow me, and the transformation is going to come from me: I am going to make you.

And then he describes a new job that they’re going to have, and he inspires them with showing them a new job, and he says, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” These men were fishers of fish — that’s what they were; that’s what they knew how to do. And Jesus is a carpenter, which means he works with, you know, wood and stone, and he’s telling them: I’m going to give you a new job, and the new job is going to be a fisher of men. When they heard that, they had no idea what that meant. They’d never seen anybody who was a fisher of men; they had no clue what it meant to be a fisher of men. And what Jesus is saying is: I’m going to transform you into something you don’t even know what it is, and you couldn’t go after it even if you tried — it’s something I’m going to do.

I wonder if we looked at our budgets from the last three Januaries, for our personal expenses — if you don’t have a budget, I’d recommend you start — well, what if we looked at our budget from the last three Januaries? How much money was spent by us to try and bring a change into our life — a product we purchased, a plan we purchased, a path we purchased? Or, you know what, about our calendars? If we just look at the last three Januaries, how much time did we spend trying to initiate a transformation, time trying to bring a change into our life? How did it work out? Jesus is calling them; he’s the one who they need to follow; he’s the one who’s going to bring the change; he’s the one who’s going to bring the new job, and it’s brand-new territory.

And what is fascinating in this passage is their response. Simon and Andrew’s response: “Immediately they left their nets and followed him.” That’s fascinating to me. Two brothers, fishers of fish, they leave something significant — they were working, that’s significant — and on that day they leave work and they follow him. James and John’s response: “Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.” Two brothers, fishers of fish, they’re doing something very significant that day; they’re working. And they leave something significant to follow after someone who is more significant than the significant thing that they were doing. There was a greater significance that God had for them, and it required them, at least that day, leaving their stuff and following Jesus. Now, did they ever come back to their stuff? Yeah, they did. Did they ever work again? Yeah, they did; the Scriptures show us that. But on that day, on the job, they leave what they’re doing and they follow Jesus.

And I think it’s a great question to ask: why? It seems so abrupt — it says immediately they did it; it seems so abrupt. Why did these first disciples respond immediately to follow Jesus? Part of the joy that we have when we read our Bibles is we learn more truth, and as we read the Gospels as a whole, we’ll understand the Gospels as a whole; as we read our Bible as a whole, we’ll understand our Bible as a whole. And it’s helpful to look at all four of the gospels in the initial calling of the first disciples to give us a context and an understanding of what happened that caused them to abruptly, immediately begin to follow Jesus. So I’ve already shared that the Mark 1:16–20 passage is almost word-for-word identical to the Matthew 4, so we’re not going to look at that one. But we are going to move to the Luke 5 — Luke 5:1–11. This is another account where the first disciples are called, and it gives us a storyline; it gives us more texture and more context to what that situation looked like, and it’s going to be helpful to us to see, from this passage, why would these fishermen leave what they were doing and follow Jesus.

More Context: The Miraculous Catch — Luke 5

It says: “On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret” — so it’s describing many people coming to hear what Jesus has to say — “and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land, and he sat down and taught the people from the boat.” So Jesus sees empty boats; he chooses to get into a boat; he’s a little bit offshore, and he’s using the boat as his platform, the place that he’s sitting, where now he’s teaching a large group of people. “And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.’ And Simon answered, ‘Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.’ And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both of the boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.’ For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.’ And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.”

So this account helps us see more of what’s happening. The context is that Jesus is teaching the word of God, and people are hearing the word of God, and the word of God is coming into their ears, into their mind, and into their heart, and the word of God is at work doing more than what they understand is even happening in their life. And the word of God is preparing them to witness something, and that is an incredible miracle that God is going to do. And when the word of God and the work of God are now put on display — where they’ve heard the word of God taught and they see this miraculous catch of fish — the response is they’re astonished. God has their attention.

And something that’s fascinating from this account is that it says that Jesus got into their boat. That’s a simple detail, but I think it’s really powerful: Jesus went to their environment. Jesus went to where they were, into their circumstance, and got into their boat. And it made me think about the places in my life where Jesus came to me right where I was. Maybe think about being on the bottom bunk as a kid, two blocks over there in that neighborhood, where Jesus came and called me. It made me think about, as a junior higher, being up at [Hume Lake] Christian Camp, sensing that Jesus was calling me. It made me think, as a young adult, being in an old converted milk factory in downtown Modesto where people were worshiping, where Jesus called me. It made me think about sitting at the desk at the mechanical engineering firm, and literally the phone rang, and God used a phone call to help me understand that he was calling me. It made me think about a night that I was driving Highway 99 northbound, tears flooding my face, and the peace of God came over my life, and I knew in that moment, right there, God was calling me. Where’s your boat been when God has showed up in your life? Where’s your boat been parked? Maybe it was at your house; maybe it was with family; maybe you were alone; maybe it was in your workplace — where God got into your boat with you; he showed up right where you were, and he got into the boat.

Jesus spoke to them as the master. They’re professional fishermen; he’s a carpenter, and he says, you need to put your boat out into the deep, and you need to let down your nets for a catch. He speaks to them like he’s the owner of the business. And when God shows up into our life, he speaks as the owner of our business, and he says, I need you to put out, and I need you to let down. Now, it might be different words; it might be different terms, but he shows up as the one who’s in charge — as the master — and he says, no, you don’t quite got it right; this is what I need you to do; this is where I need you to go; and this is what I need you to do; this is how I need you to obey me, because I, Jesus the master, I’m the one who’s in charge.

And Jesus invoked in them a response. Simon Peter’s like, I can’t even be by you; you shouldn’t be here; we shouldn’t be here together — “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” He has seen the word of God and the work of God on display; he’s seeing the glory of the situation, the holiness of the situation, and he’s like, I shouldn’t even be here. The contrast between what he saw in his own life and what he was witnessing in front of him — he’s like, that contrast is too great; I’m the odd man out; we shouldn’t be hanging out. Depart from me, for I’m a sinful man; depart from me, for I’m a sinful man, O Lord. And then Jesus — he speaks right into that place of fear, because he’s totally afraid, and he says, “Do not be afraid.” And when Jesus says “do not be afraid,” it’s because the person he’s speaking to is afraid; he’s terrified. These are not just words on a page; this is a real person who’s freaking out, and he’s like: calm down; stop being afraid; from now on you’re going to be catching men. You know, it’s the same message — you’re a fisher of fish, but I’m going to have you be a fisher of men. Stop being afraid; from now on you’re going to be catching men.

How can you relate to that? Have you ever been too afraid to engage with God — you were too afraid of what was going to happen? You recognize that he got into the boat with you; you recognize that he speaks to you like the master; you recognize he’s invoked a response in you — but you’re afraid. And because you’re afraid, you are immobilized; you’re doing nothing with the fact he’s gotten into the boat with you, that he speaks like the master, and he invokes a response. You’re doing nothing because you’re terrified; you’re afraid. And that’s what fear does — fear steals it all; fear steers. Fear steals what God’s doing, takes it away, because of fear. And he says, don’t be afraid. Don’t be afraid. Right now this passage shows us that the response of Simon, Andrew, James, and John is exactly the same as the other passage describes the response: it says they brought their boats to land, and they left everything and they followed Jesus. These are two sets of brothers; they’ve been drawn in by the glory of God that’s on display in front of them, and they’re like, we got to follow this guy. We got to leave what we’re doing — though it is significant, we need to leave what we’re doing, and we need to follow this guy, because we are astonished by what we are seeing in him.

Behold, the Lamb of God — John 1

So another question I think is helpful to ask is: did these first disciples even understand who they were following? Did they understand who Jesus really was as they began to follow after him? Did they have any clue about who this was that they were following? We’ve seen some hints: we’ve seen an immediate response — that’s a hint; we’ve seen that they were astounded by a miracle — that’s a hint; we see a confession of sin — that’s a hint; we see an acknowledgment of Jesus as Lord — that’s a hint. But there’s more. And John — he gives a really different narrative regarding when Jesus calls the first disciples, and we find it in John 1:35. Now, as I’m sharing, the Matthew and Mark ones are almost identical; the Luke gives us more context; but the John — you’re going to see that these four accounts, they’re not necessarily in sequential order or in a timeline narrative, and they’re also not necessarily about the same moment. But each of the gospel writers chose to use an account of Jesus calling these first disciples in a way that was helpful for the way they were setting up their gospel.

And so in John chapter 1:35 we read this: “The next day again John” — now, this is not the apostle John; this is John the Baptist — “the next day again John the Baptist was standing with two of his disciples” — and from the timeline in Scripture, we know that John the Baptist actually gathered disciples before Jesus did; that’s just a part of the historical narrative — “and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God!’” Now, when John the Baptist says “Behold, the Lamb of God,” he is speaking something that is brand new. Jesus called John the greatest of the Old Testament prophets because he was actually able to point to Jesus; he was able to look at Jesus and say, that’s the one. This term, “Lamb of God” — it was fresh and it was new, and it was referencing back to the Old Testament sacrificial system, where they were bringing bulls and goats; they were sacrificing bulls and goats on an altar so that they might have a covering for their sin. And what John the Baptist is doing is he’s pointing at a man — he’s pointing at Jesus — and he’s saying, that’s the one; that’s the lamb; that’s the one who’s going to give the sacrifice; that’s the one who’s going to allow for the forgiveness that God has for us. That’s the Lamb of God; he’s the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

“The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following him and said, ‘What are you seeking?’ And they said to him, ‘Rabbi’ (which means Teacher), ‘where are you staying?’ 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. One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (which means Christ). He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, ‘You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas’ (which means Peter).”

This account is really different, and there’s a super key question that Jesus opens up with, and he says: “What are you seeking?” And I want to challenge you right now — it’s January 5th, it’s 10:10 a.m. — what are you seeking right now? What are you hunting after? What are you hoping for? What are you longing for? What are you searching for? What are you seeking right now? It’s a very revealing question that Jesus asks: what are you seeking? And his response is, “Come and you will see.” Jesus is saying: you’re going to find what you need to be seeking if you come after me. So you might not be seeking the right thing, but if you find me, you’re going to find what you need to be seeking; you’re going to find what you need. Come and you will see.

Now, when Andrew, when he learns from John the Baptist that Jesus is the one that they need to follow, he responds in a very relational way. It says that he went and he got his brother. So he finds out Jesus is the one we’re supposed to follow — I got to get my brother; my brother needs to know this. And it says he brings his brother to Jesus. To me, this is a super clear picture of the heart behind our vision as a church, which is to love your actual neighbor. Because Andrew understands that Jesus is the one that he needs to follow, and the person that he’s with is his brother; the person he’s with is his business partner — they are fishermen; they are doing life together. He understands Jesus is the one to follow, and he loves his actual neighbor — it’s his brother; it’s his business partner — and he brings him to Jesus and says, you got to meet Jesus; we’ve found the one we’re looking for; we found the Messiah.

Who Is This Jesus?

Some things we learn about Jesus in this passage. We learned that Jesus is the Savior from sin — that’s what the text “Behold, the Lamb of God” is referencing: that he’s the Savior from sin. And Peter understood he was sinful; his response when he sees the miraculous catch of fish: “Depart from me, I’m a sinful man, O Lord; I know that I’m a sinner.” And one of the things that can be very unhealthy in the way that we think is that we can think the dirty, dirty that I’ve done is not the sin that Jesus forgives — the dirty, dirty that I’ve done, that’s not what the Bible’s talking about when it talks about Jesus forgiving sin; it’s not talking about my sin. And that is a very unhealthy way to think, and it is also very inaccurate. Because when John the Baptist points at Jesus and says, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” — it includes your dirty, dirty, and it includes my dirty, dirty. The worst of the worst is included in the sin that Jesus provides forgiveness for. And you access — I access — the forgiveness for that sin when we trust in Jesus, who is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. We trust that his sacrifice is enough; his sacrifice is acceptable; his sacrifice can get the job done to forgive us from our sin.

Jesus is the hope of the nations. He says, “We have found the Messiah.” He’s the Messiah of Israel; he’s the hope of Israel — but he’s the hope of Israel for the nations; he’s the hope of the nations. Did you know that every disciple since these very first disciples — every disciple that has ever lived — has lived underneath a corrupted government? Every disciple that has ever lived since the time of Jesus Christ has lived underneath a corrupted government. The answer we need is not actually a political solution; it’s the hope of nations, because the hope of nations is the Messiah; the hope of nations is Jesus. He’s the hope of nations; he’s the Messiah; he’s the one to rule and reign and make all things right, and it’s his kingdom — it’s the kingdom of God; it’s the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus is the God of creation. Jesus is the one who was active as God, along with the Father, in creation — who made Simon, son of John, who made him in the image of God. And Jesus is now coming to his own creation, who he made in the image of God, and he’s saying: this is who you are, but this is who I’m going to make you to be. “You are Simon the son of John, but you shall be called Cephas.” He’s saying: I’m the God of creation; I made you; I’m calling you; I’m giving you purpose; I’m giving you meaning; I’m the one who’s going to define your identity — it’s going to be me, because I’m the God of creation — all for the glory of God.

A Taste Test of the Continual Call

So, as these first disciples began to follow after Jesus, what did they experience after Jesus called them? What I’m going to do for you right now is give you a little taste test of the Scriptures. If you’re familiar with your Bible, this will be an encouragement to you of things you’ve remembered; if you’re new to your Bible, this is going to cause you to want to go open up your Bible and read. But this is a little taste test; it’s a little sample size of what Jesus did to call the twelve disciples and continue to call them after him — because it wasn’t just a one-time call; it was a call that kept coming; it was a continual call that he continued to extend to them. Here’s some examples:

“And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction.” These called disciples — Jesus took twelve of them, and he elevated them to an office that he called apostle. So disciple means learner; apostle is a representative. And so not only were they a learner, but he allowed them to be a representative on his behalf.

Another passage: “Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, ‘I have compassion on the crowd because they’ve been with me now for three days, and they have nothing to eat, and I’m unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.’” So these called disciples witnessed the compassion of Jesus, and then the miraculous feeding of thousands of people.

Another passage: “Jesus called them to him and said, ‘You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’” These called disciples — Jesus taught them a countercultural servant leadership that they’d never seen before, and it was in total contrast to the Roman government which they were under at that time.

Another passage: “And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits.” Just imagine this: these called disciples, they had some pretty crazy on-the-job training that they were experiencing as they were following Jesus. They were encountering things they had never experienced before, and they had no clue were coming after him. And so Jesus just continues to teach them as they’re following.

Another: “He sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, ‘If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.’” This is a moment where Jesus called the disciples and he had to sit them down and give them a little lesson; he had to bring some correction. He’s like, you guys got it wrong. If you think you’re going to be great, you need to actually be least; if you want to be first, you’re actually going to need to be last. You guys got this thing all backwards.

Another place: “He called his disciples to him and said to them, ‘Truly I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.’” So these called disciples — Jesus is teaching them about what true giving looks like, and it’s a trusting sacrifice. This poor widow was trusting God with her sacrifice; she gave everything she had. And he’s saying, look, guys — this is what it looks like to trust God when you give.

Another place: “Jesus called them to him, saying, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.’” Right now there’s a bunch of kids over on that part of the building, and out that part of the building there’s a bunch of little kids, and in a bunch of buildings over there there’s a bunch of kids — last hour, last night there were kids, next hour there’ll be even more kids with students — there’s kids going to be all over this campus all weekend. And Jesus is teaching these called disciples: look, you want to follow me? You got to be like a kid and come after me. You got to have a childlike faith; you got to trust me like a child would trust; you got to come after me like one of these kids.

So they experienced a lot. And what did these first disciples experience by serving Jesus? Well, Jesus not only took them from being a disciple and saying you’re going to serve me in a special way — it’s going to be called an apostle — but he actually elevated them to something even greater than that. And this is what it says in John 15 — John 15:15, Jesus says, “No longer do I call you servants” — I’ve been calling you servants — “no longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends. For all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. These things I command you, that you will love one another.” Consider the progression: Jesus calls them as disciples; he calls them to be his apostles; he calls them to be his servants; and then he calls them his friends. When Jesus first called them, he called them as sinners — that’s where they were; Peter’s saying, I can’t even be by you; I’m too sinful to even be by you. And as Jesus continued to call them, he taught them: here’s how you’re going to become God’s servant — and he teaches them and trains them all along the way. And Jesus continues to call them, and he transforms them into one of God’s saints. It’s incredible — that they might bear spiritual fruit that’s going to last for eternity, and that they would love one another.

How Is Jesus Calling Us?

And I think the question that we need to be asking — as we’re seeing how Jesus is calling these first disciples — is: how is Jesus calling us? As we look at how Jesus called these first disciples, who end up being the twelve apostles, how is Jesus calling us to follow him today? Is Jesus calling us to leave a place of sin? Peter said, I’m a sinful man; I’m a sinful man. Is Jesus calling us to leave a place of sin? Is Jesus calling us to learn a practice of service? He called them, and he kept calling them, and he kept teaching them, and he kept training them. Is Jesus calling us to learn how we can serve him, to have a practice of service? Is Jesus calling us to live in his presence as a saint? He says, I’ve been calling you servants, but I’m going to call you my friend; we’re going to have a relationship together; you’re going to bear fruit that’s going to glorify my Father; you’re going to love one another truly. Is Jesus calling us today to live in his presence as a saint? Is Jesus calling us to lead a person to meet the Savior — like Andrew, when he recognizes that’s the one we’re supposed to follow, and he goes and he gets his brother Simon Peter — he’s like, we found him; we found him, and we got to come to him; we got to go to him; you need to meet him; we need to follow him; he’s the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world; he’s the Messiah?

How is Jesus calling you to follow him today? Are you open to God doing something bigger than you in your life? Are you open to God using you to accomplish something that is bigger than your life? What we’re looking at in these four gospel texts that we’ve looked at today — this is the beginning of the discipleship chain reaction, where Jesus calls disciples. And you know what those disciples did? They went and they made disciples. And then those disciples went and they made disciples, and they made disciples, and they made disciples — and that has led to us right here, right now, where we’re still calling people to come after Jesus, and we’re still calling people to follow him, and we’re still calling people to be disciples. And are you willing to be a part of the chain reaction? Our community needs Jesus. Are you willing to go get into the boat with somebody — go have coffee with somebody, go next door and see how somebody’s doing, go have lunch with somebody, talk to that person that you work with? Are you willing to get into their boat and say, hey — I found him. I found him, and I want to introduce you to him; I want you to know Jesus. It’s an incredible chain reaction that’s happened from the text we’re looking at today, all the way to where we are right now. And it’s an absolute privilege to be a part of the disciples making disciples making disciples making disciples chain reaction that started with Jesus calling those first disciples. So let’s do it. Let’s do it. Let’s keep it going; let’s continue it; let’s keep disciple-making going, and let’s keep calling people to follow Jesus, who’s going to change their life forever. Let’s stand together.

Father God, Lord, thank you so much for the way that you love us. Lord, thank you for your Scripture; thank you that we can dig in, and thank you that it can dig into us. And, God, thank you for an opportunity to come after you. And so, God, help us to follow you as a church; help us to come after you as a church, for your glory and your glory alone. We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ, who’s the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. And all God’s family said, amen.