Sermon for the week of March 5, 2017 by Pastor Steve Hopkins[social_warfare buttons=”Facebook”]
“Let’s Go Fishing…”
- Follow Me – The First Disciples: 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. 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. (Matthew 4:18-22, ESV)
- Jesus calls these first disciples to follow Him.
- To follow Jesus means to walk on his path. “Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.” (Psalm 1:1-3, NLT)
- Because there are two options… “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10, NRSV)
- But the Path is relational. “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” (John 14:6, NASB)
Δ: Is this story familiar to you? Are we so used to hearing about Jesus calling the disciples that we miss something important about what is going on?
- And, in following Jesus, in walking his path, the disciples will be given a task – to become “fishers of men”.
- Fishers of men? “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 28:19, NIV)
- But, they’re fishermen. Can they actually do this? Where’s their license?! Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. (1 Corinthians 1:26-27, NIV)
- Ok, but I’m not a “fisher of men”. Or am I? “The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up the one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 12:12, NLT)
Δ: What is your role in the Body of Christ? Do you know? If not, what are your natural talents and abilities? What do you do well? Do I believe that God has a role for me?
- Before any of that happens though, they get out of the boat. If they knew what awaited them, would they still follow?
Δ: What about you? Have you ever taken a big leap of faith – you jumped into something without a clue as to how it would end?
- Later, Jesus appeared again to the disciples beside the Sea of Galilee. This is how it happened. Several of the disciples were there—Simon Peter, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples. Simon Peter said, “I’m going fishing.” “We’ll come, too,” they all said. So they went out in the boat, but they caught nothing all night. At dawn Jesus was standing on the beach, but the disciples couldn’t see who he was. He called out, “Fellows, have you caught any fish?” “No,” they replied. Then he said, “Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you’ll get some!” So they did, and they couldn’t haul in the net because there were so many fish in it. (John 21:1-6, NLT)
Δ: To what is God calling me? Is there anything in my life that I feel he might be leading me to? What’s holding me back from answering? Will I go fishing with Jesus?