Sermon Transcript:

One of the most memorable commercials for me growing up was from the US Marine Corps. Maybe you remember the recruiting slogan, “The Few. The Proud. The Marines.” This slogan stuck with me because there was something special about it. There was this high honor of joining this prestigious military branch. I almost considered joining myself. The man in the dark suit with the white hat and the sword just seemed like the coolest thing. Watching the commercial gave me a sense of purpose and direction. The call to fight as one of the select few for our country seemed almost too irresistible to pass up. 

• Now if you know me, I did not go into the Marines but was called to fight a different war as one of the pastors here at this church. I thank the Lord for that.

Relevance: As we continue in the book of Matthew, we will begin to see Jesus’ ministry as boots on the ground. Jesus will continue to walk as an example for us believers as He starts to call followers to join Him in the fulfillment of His ministry. We will see that we too get to participate and join Jesus in the ministry: Here in Southgate, the Downriver area, and across the world. It all begins with the calling of Jesus.

Main Point: The calling of God is irresistible, leading to faithful obedience in Christ.

Transition: First, Jesus begins to call His first disciples.

• God calls His children. (v.18-19a; 21)

Explanation: After the introduction to Jesus’ earthly ministry, we see Him walking along the sea of Galilee. If you can remember three weeks ago when Kevin last preached, Jesus withdrew into Galilee, shortly after John was arrested. He had just begun to preach the message of repentance, telling the world that the kingdom of heaven was at hand. 

• So, the message that He came to preach is established. The ushering in of the kingdom of heaven is through Christ. He has already demonstrated to the Tempter His obedience and oneness to the Father through the power of the Spirit when physically weak. It was God’s Word that He trusted in. Now, this kingdom must grow with the help of others.

Illustration: By the world’s standards, an organization will only be successful when the right people are selected or hired to help accomplish the goal of the company. Ultimately, it takes people to buy into that mission or goal to move forward to growth and success.

• Jesus begins this same process: The kingdom of heaven will be built on community. The world attempts this, but often in a self-serving way. Jesus does this in a completely unusual and different way. Instead of picking the most qualified people to move forward to accomplish His mission, He picks ordinary men that would not meet the standards of society during that time. 

Matthew 4:18-19a, “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.”

• The first two disciples called by Jesus is Simon (Peter) and Andrew. We know a lot about Peter. He is the zealous one who denies Jesus three times later and curses out a little girl. He is the first one called to bring the gospel to the Gentiles in the book of Acts. Andrew on the other hand is not mentioned as much specifically later in the New Testament.
• What we mostly gain from this text is that Peter and Andrew are both fishermen. At this time, being a fishermen would have meant they were both in a lower social class. They were more than likely in the poverty class. What they had earned as a living, primarily depended on chance. If it was a bad day fishing, it would be a bad day on the ole pocketbook. 
• Jesus then, didn’t select these men out of what they had already accomplished or their qualifications. Jesus chose those whom He was instructed to choose by His Father. He calls two more men after this.

Matthew 4:21, “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.”

• He similarly calls two other fishermen, James and John, the sons of Zebedee. These men, like Simon and Andrew, were in a lower social class. All these men were highly unlikely individuals to aid Christ in His mission to preach repentance. We learn a valuable lesson about who God is. God’s chosen are based, not on the merits on man, but by His grace alone.

Explanation: The world’s ways of selecting and choosing people vastly differs from that of how God chooses people for His purposes. God, in His elective purposes, chooses and uses people for His glory and to fulfill His mission. For a rabbi or teacher, as Jesus was, it would have been common for him to choose followers to learn and grow from his teaching. Jesus here goes even further. He starts to choose people to participate with Him in mission. These men will not follow Jesus as merely a learning experience, but for hands-on training.

• We see that it is God who calls people to make that decision.

Ephesians 1:3-6, “3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.”

• Just as God chose the unlikely fishermen at the sea of Galilee, God has also called and chosen those of us here who have trusted and believed in the gospel of Jesus Christ. It was not our decision or good works that determined this. We couldn’t bribe or pay off God to get right with Him. Some of us were called out of some horrific means and others not so much, but we were all dead to rights before being born-again in Christ. In fact, we were all broken and undeserving of God’s grace. We were enemies of God, awaiting the wrath and judgement of God because of our sin. Sin is the active and total rebellion that we are all born with when we enter this world. It is the curse of Adam that we all inherit and as a result, our relationship with God is totally cut off. We have no relationship with God in our own goodness or righteousness. It was and continues to be by the grace of God that any of us believe and trust Jesus today. 

Application: What is beautiful in all of this is that God has called these men along with those who would trust in the gospel of Christ, before the foundation of the world. That means, when God created the world and His creation, He knew that Simon, Andrew, James and John would be where they would be. He selected them beforehand that the Christ would cross paths before them on their fishing venture. God worked all of this together to cross these paths. This is no different for believers here this morning. If you are here and bank on the sufficiency and potency of the blood of Jesus, know that God chose you before time existed. As adopted sons and daughters of God, blameless and holy in Christ.

• Think about the time that God brought you into the family of God. It was God who brought to you the right person at the right time to share the gospel of hope to you. You heard the gospel and God brought to you a change of heart. The heart of stone was turned into a heart of flesh. The life of sin you once walked in, was now changed completely. Forgiveness had found you. At this point, you were called by God, changed completely, and were given the command, “Follow me.”

Transition: If we are called to follow Christ, what are we walking into exactly? What is the mission? We see Christ use the means in which the first disciples were familiar with to connect those dots. 

•  The call of the Gospel. (v.19)

Explanation: This call to “Follow me” means this to the first disciples, “Follow me as I fulfill the prophets and law in front of you all.” Obviously, Jesus doesn’t use these words, but this is the means in which the calling of Christ for these men would work. Look at what Jesus calls the disciples to.

Matthew 4:19, “19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

• Jesus calls these men not to follow him for their own glory. It would ultimately be the glory of Christ that these men were called. They were no longer to be fishermen who would cast their pole into the sea, they would now be called to fish for men. You see, Jesus has a way of words. He will take the very thing or interests or pursuits we have and correlate them to His kingdom calling. 
• This call has been used by God through the Prophet Jeremiah as well but changes the very meaning of being a fisher of men: From judgment to salvation.

Jeremiah 16:16, “16 “Behold, I am sending for many fishers, declares the Lord, and they shall catch them. And afterward I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain and every hill, and out of the clefts of the rocks.”

• God here is dishing out judgment for the disobedient. To fish for these men, meant to catch them and deliver punishment for their sin.
• Jesus here in Matthew is calling these men to play a role in the salvation of His people. However, this task would not be an easy endeavor. This would be a call to leave all that they had and follow Jesus. They would have to rethink what it meant to live purposefully on this planet.

Illustration: If you are someone who enjoys fishing as a regular hobby or on occasion, you know the patience and diligence it takes to catch fish. It takes understanding the waters and using the proper equipment to snag a great catch. Fishermen in the days of Jesus would have used three methods of fishing: By line, with casting a net, or with a dragnet. All these methods would have been used in the right situation, in the right weather conditions, and with catching the right kind of fish. 

• Different from today’s day and age, the methods, equipment, and techniques of fishing are far more sophisticated, but equally challenging. It takes the right lures and types of jigs and bait to catch fish.
• Likewise, becoming fishers of men means that it takes strategy and various means to catch people. Jesus knew that it would take work and preparation to make the great catch as those catching fish. The disciple’s livelihood and purpose were centered on this. Jesus came with a specific purpose to call these men to play a role into the salvation of men. What I believe Jesus is saying to these disciples was this: “You used to be crafty and skillful in the catching of fish. Now I want you to catch the souls of men.”

Application: The call of the Christian now is no different from the men that Jesus would call. For the first disciples, they would get to be with Jesus in the flesh. They would get to see Jesus Walk in the intended purpose of His earthly ministry. Jesus would perform miraculous signs through the healing of the sick, the turning of water into wine, and most importantly, the resurrection. Jesus would suffer a horrible death at the hands of the Jewish leaders. Jesus would take the sin of the world on a cross with Him and suffer greatly on behalf of sinners. Those sinners who have put their faith and trust in Christ marked them chosen by God. And if they were chosen by God, they would be called by God. If they are called by God, they are also commissioned by God for a purpose. What is that purpose you might ask? Well, the early disciples were chosen for a specific role during the earthly ministry of Jesus but would be commissioned in the same way as the church is today. That grand purpose is to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ to a dying world.

• Following Jesus now means that we get to partake in the commission together. This commission means that we are a part of a larger story at play here in the history of redemption. 
• Many of us struggle with our day-to-day lives, feeling discouraged or hopeless. We often feel our lives are boring or monotonous. It can feel like we are doing an active walkthrough of the movie Groundhog Day with Bill Murray. 
• Let me encourage you this morning that your life means so much more when it has Christ at the helm. It means that we get to use every opportunity and moment to point others to the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. This is our commission.

Matthew 28:19-20, “19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

• Being fishers of men means we get to fulfill the Great Commission. It means that as true believers, we get to participate in soul-winning.

Charles Spurgeon once wrote, “Soul-winning is the chief business of the Christian minister; it should be the main pursuit of every true believer.”

• Soul-winning means two things. First, I believe it means that we are not placed anywhere by accident. God uses our jobs, family relationships, life situations and circumstances, health problems, our trips to the gas station, all to work together that someone might hear the gospel. Does it mean we blast every person we meet with the gospel? No, because as fishers of men, we allow God to equip us and use us properly for each given situation we are in.
• Secondly, I believe that becoming a soul-winner, or a fisher for men, means that we seek the Lord to use every given situation we find ourselves in to point others to the gospel. This means we have an active role in trying to win the world for Christ. Does this mean we compromise on the truth to accomplish this? No. We don’t try and become seeker-sensitive or worldly with entertainment or sin to try and bring people into the fold. Instead, we seek in every possible moment for the Lord to work and soften hearts. We love the lost and preach the Good News, planting seeds of God’s Word that it might bear fruit. It means, we try and be all things to all people that some might be saved, knowing that it is the work of God bringing salvation to those whom He has chosen.
• We do all of this knowing that the work is really dependent on God working and we are being the vessels of His truth. Look at the words of Paul.

Romans 10:14-17, “14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”

• This commission really is simple. If we believe that faith comes from hearing the word of Christ, we are then called to preach the Word of God. I believe the Word of God will never return void. Do you believe that this morning? I believe the Word of God is the authority of our lives and points the world to Christ. Do you believe that this morning? I believe the Word of God is our direct communication to the Lord. Do you believe that this morning?
• You might be struggling and wondering what plan God has for your life, and my challenge to you is, “Have you opened up God’s Word?” “Have you spent time in prayer while in the Word?” “Are you trying to negotiate and bargain with God, or are you being still, listening to what He has to say in the Word?”
• Our purpose and goal here at RGC is that you’d walk away with a renewed vigor to read and apply God’s Word in your daily life. Allow the Word to shape and guide you as you walk with Christ and become a soul-winner.

Transition: In this text, we have seen that God calls people. We have seen that God commissions those whom He has called, and finally, we see genuine faithful obedience by those who respond to the irresistible call of Christ.

• Our response in Christ. (v.20; 22)

Explanation: One of the more striking details of this passage is that the first disciples leave behind very important aspects of their lives to follow Jesus. They leave much behind, and they do it with immediacy. 

Matthew 4:20; 22, “20 Immediately they left (Simon and Andrew) their nets and followed him… 22 Immediately they (James and John) left the boat and their father and followed him.”

• Matthew writes that it was immediate that these disciples left their nets and followed Christ. No questions asked. No regards given. Why and how? From the book of John, we see that it was probable some of these men were disciples of John the Baptist and all four of these disciples were partners in the fishing trade. They would have known who Jesus was. They were possibly at His baptism, and probably recognized that there was something different about Jesus, thus resulting in them leaving their boat and father behind immediately.

Another aspect of this is that there was a real cost to this discipleship. These men weren’t just asked to leave for a little bit and return later to continue doing what they were doing. This calling and commission to follow Jesus meant a whole lot more. There was a cost of doing business so to speak. A sacrifice to serve the Lord, but they were up to the task. 

• All of the disciples were called away from their jobs as fishermen. To leave the very thing that would bring the food to the table. They instead were willing to leave that behind for the food that Jesus would give them.
• While all were called away from their jobs to follow Christ, it’s James and John who are specifically called to leave their father, Zebedee, behind. They weren’t just leaving their father either. They were leaving behind the family business. This would have been a difficult decision to make for many during the first century. The aspect and culture of family was far tighter than it is today. We live in a far more independent country and culture in America. Jesus, however, will later redefine how family relates in His kingdom.

Matthew 12:46-50, “46 While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him. 48 But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” 49 And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

• Jesus in the calling of Simon, Andrew, James, and John, was calling them to a different family. The old ways of fishing on the sea and being in the comforts of home with their family were changing. They were called to decide to forsake all that was comfortable and normal for their own lives. They were called to count the cost and follow Jesus wherever that would lead. 
• For nearly all of the disciples, they would be called to drink the cup that Jesus would drink. While they didn’t know the full extent of what they were getting into at this moment, they would eventually find out that it meant they would need to suffer like Jesus suffered. 

Illustration: I am reminded of the book “The Hobbit”. Early on, Gandalf arrives at the house of Bilbo Baggins. A hobbit who is the average joe when it comes to hobbits. He lives an ordinary life and is quite comfortable doing the things that hobbits like to do. When there is a great deal of trouble brewing with the dwarves and the orcs, it is Bilbo who is chosen by Gandalf to leave the confines of Hobbiton Square. Bilbo is called to play a key role in the great adventure of reclaiming the Arkenstone for the dwarves. What began as a story for Bilbo in comfort at his home, concluded with Bilbo and the dwarves facing much peril and adversity. By the end of the book, Bilbo discovers that it was the great and dangerous adventure that helped to shape who he would become. There was a great role for the ordinary in the world of Middle-Earth.

Application: The truth is many of us have been called to leave comfortable situations and many of us will be called to leave comfortable situations. The cost of following Jesus can and will mean a lot of discomfort for all of us.

• One of the things that stuck out most to me from the True Church Conference were the testimonies from the missionaries that were going to really dangerous areas. I mean, places where true and real persecution is happening. These Pastors had to truly count the cost when they heard the call, “Follow Me.” It was encouraging to see that it was God who had called them and commissioned them. That it’s still God at work to bring them to a hard place so that His work would be done. 

For us here, we have other issues that we should consider when we are called to follow Jesus. It should never result in compromise. Here are some things that could happen when we follow Jesus.

• It may mean alienation when speaking truth to your children and grand-children when they are following the devil’s lies and worldly sins. They may disown you or reject your counsel as they grow older. Count the cost and follow Christ.
• It may mean stepping up as a father and husband and finally taking ownership over your life in leading your household well. You may catch flak in your attempt to lead your wife and children in Christ. Count the cost and follow Christ.
• You may be a good wife and mother, but your children or husband are not following Jesus. Keep being an example of the Word, even though it may hurt to see them drifting astray. Count the cost and follow Christ.
• Don’t compromise your character away from home. There may be opportunities when others are living a certain way and are pressuring you to fall into their patterns of sin. Be a light that shines brightly for Christ, even if it seems uncomfortable or painful to do so. Count the cost and follow Christ.
• Don’t take the job that is going to take you away from church, even if it means you’ll make less money. There is nothing more crucial than the fellowship of the body in God’s Word and in prayer. Count the cost and follow Christ.
• Be willing to share the gospel wherever God may lead you to share. This may lead to ridicule and conflict, but it is worth it to share the good news. Count the cost and follow Christ.
• Be willing to share hard truth with a brother or sister in Christ when they are in sin. This may cost your friendship, but it is better to try and win your brother or sister in Christ then to remain loyal for the sake of that friendship. Count the cost and follow Christ.
• With all of that in mind, remember this truth.

Romans 10:11, “11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”  

Conclusion

Clarification & Final Point: Now, where does the motivation come from? Remember my main point this morning.

Main Point: The calling of God is irresistible, leading to faithful obedience in Christ.

Simon, Andrew, James and John left much to follow Christ. They didn’t even bat an eye on doing so. Why? They counted the cost and knew that Jesus was the real deal. As a result of God choosing these men to walk by His side, called to follow Him in this journey, and commissioned to join the fight, the overall call to follow Christ was too irresistible.

• Jesus was too powerful and convincing in being the Son of God to be missed or rejected. When Jesus really shows up at the doorstep, people will either run far away or they will bow their knees in worship. For these men, who were truly called, God had worked to draw them to the Christ. He had chosen, called, and commissioned them to follow Christ. Everything that they had before Jesus seemed like paltry compared to the glorious privilege of following Christ. So they left their careers and family to pursue Christ.
• The same goes for us Saints this morning. For those of you here that have a relationship with the Lord, it was the work of the Lord to draw you to Him. It was His irresistible call that brought you to repentance when Jesus called you. When He said, “Follow me,” it is the work of the indwelt Spirit inside of believers that draw us to the commission of proclaiming the gospel to the world. The motivation no longer rests in us trying really hard to please God. It is the love of God that motivates and compels us to live righteously and follow Christ to the ends of the earth. 

Final Application: The last encouragement I want to give you is this. Trust Jesus over everything else. Make much of Him and less of ourselves. When we remember what He accomplished for us at calvary, we can remember that we died as well. Our old nature and person was crucified with Jesus. And if we died, it means now we are alive in Him. That irresistible grace and call from the Lord is at work to change and compel us to holy living. Let’s end with this final passage.

Ephesians 2:1-10, “1And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”