An Invitation Unlike Any Other | Mark 1:16-20 | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (Gospel of Mark Series)

I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation. And I praise God that you are not ashamed to speak and declare the power of the blood of Jesus Christ. The blood still has power. Amen? Meet me in the gospel.

I invite you into the gospel of Mark chapter one as we continue our study through this amazing book that centralizes the person of Jesus Christ. And meet me in particular the verse of chapter one found in 16, where we are told, passing alongside the Sea Of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men. And immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets.

And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him. Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men. These were the words that four ordinary men heard on an seemingly ordinary day from an extraordinary man. This invitation from Jesus who was preaching in Galilee, as we heard last week for some time, would not only change the lives of these Galileans, but would actually change the course of history. It's important to know that this moment between the rabbi from Nazareth and these fishermen was not the first interaction that they had.

This is not the first time that they saw each other, even conversed with one another, because we know from John chapter one and verse 35 to 42, you do not have to turn there, we see that Andrew was in fact, before a disciple of Jesus, a disciple of the Baptist, John the Baptist. And there was a day where John the Baptist, who had some of his disciples before him, saw Jesus and pointed to him and says, behold the lamb of God. And upon hearing that, Andrew, with great excitement and eagerness and curiosity, follows the one that John pointed to and asks this Jesus if he could spend the night, or rather where he was staying. And Jesus extends the invitation to him and this unnamed disciple with him to be with him for the rest of the night. And it was the next day, whatever happened that night is veiled to us, but it was enough for Andrew to be convinced this is indeed the Messiah.

This is indeed the one that the prophet spoke of. And so he burst with joy and runs first out of everybody he knew to his brother, Simon. He comes to Simon and he says, Simon, the long awaited Christ, the Messiah has indeed come. Let me show you who he is. And Peter follows his brother Andrew and he encounters Christ for himself and Christ with great authority changes his very name.

And so between that time and these verses before us today, we are not sure the span. But one thing is for certain, it couldn't be too too long when you consider the total duration of Jesus' ministry. And why is it important to consider these details? Because as you and I see Jesus approaching these pairs of brothers, he is not coming to them as a stranger that they have never seen before or heard before, and calling them to conversion. Andrew and his brother already recognized his messiahship early on.

But what Jesus is doing when he comes to them is that he is extending an opportunity to these men to embark on a journey that would support a heavenly cause. Essentially, he is inviting them into full time ministry. Now last week, you and I heard the message that Jesus preached when he went to Galilee in saying, repent and believe. But while he was in Galilee, Jesus also commissioned a handful of men so that they would serve a particular purpose for the glory of his name. And we should be grateful to God for a portion of scripture like this because it provides us some insights into the mind of God and how and what he looks for when he does recruit men and women to his service.

This will really be exciting for those who are eager to be of use to the master. And that work that God has for each of us may differ certainly, but despite the differences, the standard by which he calls us into his work is the same. He has the same standard. And that's what we will learn today. That's what we will see today.

We may not know the long term or the complete scope of the work that God has ordained for every single one of us. But what we will see from these verses is that we can be positioned. We can do something on our part to be prepared vessels so that if and when the Lord Jesus, who is alive today, seeks to recruit servants and position them in a certain matter, we would be ready. We would be ready. And I encourage you to learn by leaning in to hear and absorb the following thoughts about how Jesus Christ thinks and his ways.

Who does he call? I mean, what kind of people does he call? How does he call? How does he call men and women today? And to what does he call us for?

What is the direction that he has in mind for his servants? For those who would answer the call of discipleship and make the priority of their existence to do what Jesus calls them to do. Number one, who does Jesus call? It is common knowledge among Christians that he goes for the lowly. He he goes to those who don't have a standard or rather a standing in society.

Those who lack credentials. Those who are not praised and acknowledged among the world. And that is certainly true. You don't really see Jesus in the gospels going to Pharisees' seminaries and asking for resumes. You don't see him, exclusively looking for the elite or Roman officials who would be part of his evangelistic team.

Jesus, in this text, goes toward uneducated, unnamed fishermen from Galilee. That doesn't mean that he does not use men in great standings. That doesn't mean that he doesn't look for people who may have powerful influence in society. I mean, look at Paul. But what it does mean, what it comforts us to learn is that he does indeed come to those that the world would overlook.

But here's the mistake a lot of Christians make with that wonderful truth of the grace of God, that he does scoop up the lowly of the world so that he can exalt them so that he would be exalted. To believe that and make the mistake that he has no qualifications in mind would be would be wrong. And the very description of of Mark by the spirit about these brothers gives us the clear indication that Jesus looks for something. He sees something that attracts him to call. What do you see here from these verses?

Take note how these men were found working. They were found actively engaged in some kind of business. They were not laying on the seashore of of Galilee soaking up the sun ten days in a row, because they had no responsibilities in life. These men were busy with their hands. These men were they were doing some important task.

They were faithful. They were diligent. They were trying to feed their families and try to build a future for for themselves and for those that they loved. I challenge you to go to this book from cover to cover and make an intentional study of how men and women were found when God intervened in their life and called them to a special purpose. What you will discover a majority of the time is that God finds these men and records them doing something.

So Moses and David were shepherds. Elisha had an ox business. Amos took care of sycamore trees. And you see example after example of different men, though the work varied, doing something when the Lord found them, because because Jesus is not interested in those who are slothful and those who are not faithful to what they've been given in the moment. Jesus looks for those because his work requires diligence and energetic effort.

And so he tries to find those with the same ambition and whatever toil they are engaged with today. He comes to these men and he sees them working. That's what it says. And if we're tempted to think that God doesn't honor this kind of attitude, then look at how specific Mark is in verse 16. He saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net into the sea.

Then you come down to verse 18. He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother who were in their boat mending the nets. Why does that matter? I believe there is reason. The casting.

The casting of the net speaks of effort, and the mending of the net speaks of faithful stewardship. They were taking care of something that was perhaps broken, something that needed to be cleaned, something that needed to be ready and prepared for the next day. And both activities, the casting and the mending required great patience. Great great patience. Fishing was hard work.

Remember when when Peter with his boys, they fished all night and they couldn't catch anything. It was difficult. It was demanding. And the patience in fishing, Oh, surely that was a trait that Jesus was looking for because if you want to, I'm talking to those who wanna serve God, if you wanna serve him with longevity, you need endurance. You need to endure.

It is not always roses. It is not always peaches and cream. There are challenges. There are difficulties. There are obstacles.

There are things that will try to resist you. And this thought should not overwhelm us. Because as I read these verses and I realized that Jesus saw, he saw Andrew and Simon. He saw James and John. I asked my own heart, Lord, what do you see right now in me?

What do you see in the activity that I'm engaged with on a consistent basis? Do you see that zeal? Do you see that consistency? Do you see a man who gives up so easily when it gets hard? What do you see in me?

And and again, this is not to heap burden. This is actually something exciting because what the Lord looks for is not credentials. He wasn't looking for pedigree. He wasn't looking for degrees. He was in the wrong place if he was doing that.

What he was looking for is simple and achievable character. Just these men who knew how to get some callous on their hands and who did their work right, faithfully. And I thought to myself, how true this is across the board with God's servants. One of my favorite scriptures that have changed my life and how to view ministry is with Jeremiah in Jeremiah chapter 12 verse five. I want you to hear these words.

After Jeremiah, after a few verses complains, he complains and complains about the great evils and the wickedness and the challenges he was experiencing as a prophet. God breaks the silence and he speaks and he answers to his man. And he says in chapter 12 verse five, if you have raced with men on foot and they have wearied you, how will you compete with horses? And if in a safe land you are so trusting, what will you do in the thicket of the Jordan? This is what he is saying.

Jeremiah's weariness, not the weariness that we know, the weariness that causes murmuring and and perhaps doubt about God and his service. Those trials that came with his work in serving God as a prophet were an indication that he was not prepared for the challenges ahead, and God was telling him that. You're not gonna be able to last in this, Jeremiah, if you can't handle it now. If you can't see that you need to be able to put your hands to the plow and not look back now, you will indeed turn back at one point. And so he calls Jeremiah to hold on.

He calls Jeremiah not to give up. And Andrew and his brother Peter were such men. At least we see him in a good light here. You compare it to Luke chapter five as I said earlier. Jesus comes to them at another time and there they are tired and bone weary because they went all night fishing and and nothing was caught.

And Jesus steps into Peter's boat, he says, could you push us out a little bit? And he does, and after that he says, why don't you throw your net on on this side? And Peter says, master, we've toiled all night, but because you said it, I will do it. I'm paraphrasing. And that is that is the heart of these men.

Even though I am dejected and disappointed, Lord, I will still do what you tell me to do. I'll still go where you where you call me to go. That doesn't require a colossal intellect. That doesn't require some kind of impressive resume. That just requires a heart that's willing to say yes to anything that the master says yes to.

And this is who Jesus found and and this is what he looks for surely. And if we think that this is just taking too much out of a small text and just study the ways of God throughout the bible and it will confirm the conclusion I am making to you. Here's the second point. Notice that they were not just engaged at a certain work. Notice that they were engaged in a certain work with certain people.

They were a team. Simon with his brother Andrew casting a net, and then you have the other team James and John in the same boat trying to fix something and mend it. And I don't think that's an insignificant detail because there's suggestion there. And the suggestion is so simple and clear that in order for you and I to enter any service to Jesus Christ, we must be willing to serve him alongside those who also want to serve him. Christ and his discipleship program requires us to cooperate with those who are also sold out to the same cause.

He saw these men working together. And as they were working together in fishing, Christ saw a great potential for them to serve in fishing for souls. That is something that many people don't think about. But if you're gonna serve Jesus Christ, you're gonna serve him with some different kind of people, with unique personalities and different weaknesses, and it's gonna require some adjustment on your part and mine in order to move forward in the program of God for our lives. I mean, if you have any doubt that these guys had different personalities, then realize later on in Mark, James and John are called the sons of thunder.

For what reason? I'm sure there was something about the personality. They earned that nickname, the Sons of Thunder. Here, okay. What's up now?

Peter I mean, the Bible is not shy to disclose that he had his own quirks, that he was somewhat influential with his personality, that when he said to do something, many people followed. Alright. Peter said, let's go. And to think that these men walked around with halos for three years without any clash is wrong. Remember, we just get one little snippet that more than once they were arguing with each other who would be the greatest in the kingdom of God.

And it breaks my heart to see people who express a desire to serve Christ, who have great gifting evil even, but they do not have any interest or any desire to submit to the local church, and to serve God with the church that he has providentially led them to. Can a hand operate without being connected to the body? You and I know the obvious answer to that. And what we have to understand is that these men here in their in their earthly business would be able to translate beautifully into their spiritual service because we do not see envy here. We do not see trouble making here.

We do not see insecurity here. Even when Peter had that miraculous catch, he was unashamed to ask the others and other boats to come and help. In Luke chapter five. And unfortunately, you see many people who who stumped their growth. Right?

And who can't move forward because of the very things I just mentioned. They are insecure. They see other people as competitors who are serving the same cause and the same kingdom. You you cannot know discipleship long term if you have those things in your heart. But, oh, if you and I, if you and I are willing to partner with those that God brings us with, and to serve those who God brings before us, then we will certainly be Christ honoring disciples.

Jesus wants members of a body. He doesn't want separate members. He wants a connected body to do his work. He calls these kind of men, these kind of women based on what we see here, though there are many other truths that are included. How does he call though?

How does he call? With the text before us, we see first of all that he is the one who initiates the invitation. These brothers didn't see Jesus stop what they were doing and saying, Jesus, we wanna be your disciples. We wanna be a part of your immediate evangelistic team. We wanna actually be apostles if that position is still available.

Nothing of the sort. Jesus looks to them. He says to them, follow me and I will make you become fishers of men. And upon that invitation, they leave their jobs, they leave their families, and they abandon all for this cause. And it would be extremely wrong to look at a narrative text like this and then apply that as a standard for all people if they want to be serious disciples.

What do I mean by that? Just because these men left their jobs and their families doesn't mean you have to. Doesn't mean I have to. We have to consider the entirety of scripture to realize how God works in our lives as we seek to serve him, as we seek to follow him where he would want us to follow him. And when we understand that God has an assignment for each of us, and that will look different for each of us, then we can be comforted to know that all I have to do is be willing to let go of anything, and that is enough for God.

This is one of the verses that, on top of the verse I mentioned earlier, has comforted me and still comforts me today. It stabilizes my soul in the context of serving him. Paul gives a wonderful truth to these believers who had many questions about what should change after they got saved. And he gives us direct instruction to them that applies to all churches. In first Corinthians, I encourage you to turn turn there in your bibles in chapter seven.

In first Corinthians seven seventeen, notice what the apostle says to these Corinthian Christians. Verse 17. Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him and to which God has called him. This is my rule in all the churches. What a beautiful command.

The Corinthian church was made up of different believers. You had some who had different spiritual gifts. You had others who had different social statuses. You had others who had different relationship dynamics. Some were single.

Some were widows. Some were married to unbelievers. Some wanted to get married. And with all those differences before Paul in his writing, he wants to encourage every person then and now whether they are single, married, slave, or free. Doesn't matter where you're at that you can, in that very place, seek to honor God.

Don't be pressured to change, and don't be frantic to change if you don't have clarity for the next step. Just let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him. And this is one of the strongest verses that encourages us as believers. God indeed has assigned a certain way of life for all of us. He has an ordained purpose set before eternity past that you would explore and and discover step by step.

And so we should be comforted by that truth. And I think this is especially important because in the context, these Corinthian Christians were saved. They received conversion, but at the same time when they realized that they were saved, they wanted to know, what else needs to change in my life then? How do I need to be circumcised? I'm not circumcised.

Do I need to be uncircumcised? I'm circumcised. Do I need to be married? I don't know. What do I do now?

What do I do? And I I can't help but think that that is so often true, especially with the person who is first saved. When they first come to Christ, there is almost in this desire to wanna honor God in totality, to know, well, okay, well, Lord, where do I go from now? What do I say I need to do? And they become frantic.

They become frantic. And that's not just true for the believer at first. That's true for the mature believer who is constantly wanting to serve God and to fulfill the assignment that he has set for them. And so you know what happens? You get Christians that get frantic.

Well, do I need to quit my job? I think I need to quit my job. I don't think I'm glorifying God in my job. I don't know where I'm gonna go, but I think I just need to quit my job. I think I gotta spice things up a little bit.

I think the Lord wants me to do do something faithful to him and radical. Oh, relax. Well, okay. Well, maybe I need to move out of state because I maybe it'll be better if I go there, if I do this, if I go out, if I move over there. Maybe I need to sell everything, just give it away.

I don't know what I'm going to do, but I'm just gonna sell. And and they're scared to even take any of those steps because they don't have any clarity from God. And then what you have is Christians for weeks and months living in some kind of a torment, that they're not really serving God, unless something changes, something radical happens. And good hearted children of God are frustrated because they want to they want to fulfill something. They have an urge for it, but they don't know what to do.

Look down at verse 24 of the same chapter. So brothers, in whatever condition each was called, there let him remain with God. In whatever condition each was called, there let him remain with God. He is now reinstating what he said back in verse 17 with a beautiful point to enrich the encouragement. We should remain in whatever circumstance divine providence has led us into.

And in that place, with those circumstances, honor God. Honor God. Look at verse 19 at the end of it. For neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, but keeping the commandments of God. You you may not know what needs to change at this time.

You may not know the next step. But one thing you can do and all that God is looking for is that in the place that you are in right now, just obey him. Just obey him. Obey him to the capacity in which he has given you. Obey him with the context that you are in.

Just seek to obey him. This is so encouraging. You know why? Because it says, there let him remain with who? With God.

God is with you. And as unsatisfied as you might be where you are, as though you may have these desires and these these prayers that don't seem to be answered as quickly as you would like, The thing that you can be comforted by is that where you are right now, God is with you. And you can, no matter your status and relationship, no matter the job that you have, you can right there fellowship with God. He is with you. You can know him.

You can enjoy him. You can worship him. You can receive from him. You can grow in him. You are there with God.

And you can stay there and honor God. How does this all tie in? Well, this is what I'm trying to say. Be comforted. Be comforted to know that God actually will call us when he wants us to call us.

But until then, you are called to stay in the station that he has providentially put you in. And so let that burden roll off your back, and realize that when the next step will come, it will be so clear, just like with these disciples. Jesus makes it so clear. Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And when that call does come, whether it is through his word, where we know what we're supposed to do in the context that we're in, or when there is manifest direction that is supernatural in your life.

There is an appropriate response, and it is exemplified by these men. Each element is with each pair of brothers. The first one comes with Andrew and Peter. We are told in verse 18, immediately. Immediately they left their nets and followed him.

That is a word that Mark loves to use. Immediately. No hesitation. No second thought that their history, their business, the dreams with their business would even come close to competing with what Christ would want them to do. They dropped everything in that moment.

The charge of Christ, whether it is revealed through his word or whether it is again a manifest direction, it deserved swift surrender. I will surrender Lord, and this is again, why am I saying this? This is the posture of the heart that makes us recruitable for God's service. He wants to know that you hold things in life loosely, And that if he says go, you will go. And you will drop it, and you will go where he wants us to go.

And listen, I know that sounds like a radical thing that's unique to certain people, but it is still something that you and I can experience in this life. I remember when I when I was working in advertising, and I knew God had revealed in so many ways, you're gonna be doing ministry. And there were so many opportunities for jobs in the advertising industry, and somebody who had a good heart recommended to me, well, why don't you just do that and do that part time? But I knew it wasn't that. It had to be full time ministry.

And so I looked at somebody in the eyes who offered me a great job at a young age, and I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Many people have testimonies like that, and that is what is trying to be said through the example of these men. That immediately, you're willing to leave whatever Jesus calls you to leave. But look at the other facet.

The emphasis with Andrew and Peter is their occupation. But with James and John, it's with who? It's with relationship. They left though they left our occupation, they left and walked away from their beloved father Zebedee. And he adds a detail, the hired servants.

The hired servants, meaning that these fellow employees were very likely good friends to James and John. That they had memories, that they had laughs. And surely with their own father, there was comfort. There was a comfort with familiarity. There was a safety.

There was close proximity with someone that you you obviously love and and and care for, and they care for you. And yet we are told that they left with the same promptness. And so what is being said here? That in light of Andrew and Peter, you must leave any security. But in light of James and John, you must be willing to even pay the price relationally.

Relationally. You know, there are many people who cannot truly pay the price of discipleship because they just love their friends too much. They just love their family too much. And they know that if they walk in a certain way or do a certain thing in the name of Christ, that it will affect the dynamics of those relationships. You cannot be a true disciple if that is the case.

It will cost you even relationally. It will cost you sometimes to move locations. It will cost you to have friction at home because you're standing for truth. It will cost you something. And yet Jesus still has a reward for them.

Even Peter later on in Mark, you know what he says after the rich young ruler did the opposite of him and the opposite of the other disciples? He says in Mark ten twenty eight, Peter began to say to him, see we have left everything and followed you. We have left everything and followed you. And this is the mark of discipleship. Not that every person here has sold everything, and has left everything, but that in your heart you are willing to give everything.

That you are convinced in your soul, oh Lord, if you say leave everything, I will leave everything. And so in true worship, we should be able to look to Christ and say, see I am willing to leave everything. See my heart is detached from everything. Your call on my life has superior value over all things. That is discipleship.

Let me add one more thing to this point about how Jesus calls us. It was not just the response of the disciples that was immediate. Notice that the call was sudden. We see in verse 20 that the Lord immediately, he went to James and John. Immediately.

When Jesus calls us Okay. After the revelation that you have believed in, that he is the Messiah, he is Lord, he is savior, but throughout our walk with the Lord, when he calls you and I to a certain work, let me give you a heads up, he tends to do it with interruption. In other words, it is never convenient to answer the call to serve Jesus Christ to the flesh. There's never a time in flesh where it's like, I think now is a good time that I'm going to honor Jesus Christ in a particular way. Never.

He does it when they're busy. He does it while they're working. He does it while they're with family. He comes and he says, follow me now. There's no negotiation.

Others have tried to do that down the road and it didn't work out well for them. And so know this, the price in serving Christ is that it will call us at inconvenient times. That it will demand, young person, the prime of your life. You can't delay serving the Lord. That was my mentality growing up in the church, as though Jesus was waiting for me.

You know what, Lord? I'll wait till I'm 30, 30, and then I'll I'll get serious about you. That is not how discipleship works. You see Christ here teaching us that it is never convenient for the flesh to follow him. Serving him is not an addition to your life.

Seeking to be a disciple of Christ is not a piece of the pie of your existence. It's the whole pie. It overrides all things. It becomes the very reason where everything orbits around that central cause. Jesus Christ, wherever you tell me to go, whatever you tell me to do, I will do it.

This is what he is looking for. And these disciples gave it. This is how he calls. He expects immediate obedience and the joy of immediate obedience. Let me tell you this.

Christ will forgive you, time doesn't. Time doesn't forgive you. And the more we delay in obedience, all we're doing is robbing ourselves of greater testimonies and experiences of God in this life. I often tell myself this, and I tell others from time to time. There is coming a day where you and I will not be able to glorify Jesus Christ for all of eternity.

In heaven, we will glorify Christ, certainly, with perfect pitch, with perfect resistance to temptation, because there's no resistance to temptation. We will know a type of glory and we will give a type of glory that will be unique and enduring. At the same time, there is a way in which we can glorify Christ now that we can't in heaven. Can you say no to temptation in heaven? Can you die to self in heaven?

How can you die? You're gonna have a glorified body. It won't even be a thought. Will you stand for Christ in heaven when the multitudes will not stand for Christ? No.

No. No. And the list goes on. But in this life, yes. That tells me I only have one shot of this.

I only have one shot, and then I will stand before him, and I will enjoy him and love him, but I don't want to look back before I get in and say, oh Lord, if you would just give me more time. I would not have been so foolish. The cost of discipleship. I tell you this, there's a greater cost of not being a disciple than of being a true disciple. What does he call us for?

Where does he call us to? That's the next question. Though the destination of these disciples are unique because they would be prepared and trained to be apostles, who would lay the foundation of the doctrine of the church, the principle is still the same. There is a direction when God calls us into a certain discipleship, a certain way of life. Notice what he says, follow me and I will make you become fishers of men.

I will make you become fishers of men. As we daily yield to his leadership, the ultimate goal of the Lord Jesus in calling you my brother, in calling you my sister, is is for you to become something that you weren't when you started. I found you as fishers, but I'm gonna make you become something that I have planned for you. That is why we should never be discouraged to think that we are unfit or unworthy or undeserving to be of use to the king of kings and the lord of lords. You know why?

Because his primary motivation in coming to these disciples was not their ability, not even their maturity. The primary motivation of Jesus Christ is, I can do something in these men. I can make them into something. I can mold them into something. Their hearts are in the place where it would give me the ability to create in me what I wanna create rather in them.

And that is no different for us. Listen. We should, without reservations, surrender joyfully to the Lord because he is not trying to find us in a certain way. He wants to find us just willing to say yes and then to submit to what he has in mind, that which he has ordained for us personally. You know what that means?

It doesn't matter what your personality defect is. It doesn't matter what kind of life altering trauma you had in the past. He wants to make you into something. He wants you to become something. So the hesitation to follow Jesus Christ because of your personal weakness or your history is irrelevant.

Because he's not finding you as something, he's inviting you to become something. That's the cause of discipleship. In their in their context, it was to become great soul winners. In your context, perhaps it'll be a great mother. And we see here that this verse tells us where the power of this transformation comes.

I will make you become. I will. The power comes from him. So what's the fear in following Christ? What's the worry in seeking to honor him?

I've met people who say, I'm just worried to serve Jesus because I don't know what I will be in the days to come. I don't know what kind of mistakes I'll make. I know myself. Well, let me tell you something. The energy and the equipment and the enablement doesn't come from you.

It comes from him. Oh, yeah. If you rely on yourself, no thank you. I'll I'll stick with this. But when the Lord calls you, when he invites you, he also enables you.

He enables you and I. What is there to resist? How can you even think to yourself for a moment, I I can't of course you can't do it. That's the point. That's the point.

So let this be a truth that you pray back to the Lord. Do you hear me? Let this be a truth that you pray back to the Lord. If you infuse the grace, if you put a truth in these disciples that transform these Galileans into some people that stun the world and do the same in me. Do the same with me, Lord.

I am no different than these men. I am weak. I have great great weakness. But Lord, if you said you would make them become something, then oh, how I long for you to make me into something or someone. Change me and you submit to his power day by day by day.

And what's amazing about this is that it's a process. As you pray that prayer, and I pray that you pray it, as you pray that prayer, realize something very important. Jesus said, I will make you become, and it was a three year process. He didn't wave his hand over them on the sword and then they became apostles. They didn't become wonderful preachers immediately.

They didn't become soul winners right away. I mean, remember, James and John, they're about to go through Samaria and they say, hey, Jesus. Can we call down fire from heaven and burn these guys? These are the men that Jesus called. I will make you become.

It's a process, and Christ knows that. Unfortunately, his children don't. We get frustrated with ourselves, we get disappointed, we throw in the towel, we turn our backs, and yet Christ is committed. Committed to us for his glory. And this is what I so admire about the Lord.

This is what makes me adore him. That I see here with his men in the immediate sense that he has a school and there is a curriculum and he he has step by step ready for us to walk through. And knowing Christ and becoming like Christ and being fruitful for Christ is not something that happens overnight. It's something that Jesus has great patience for. Here's an example of just how committed Christ is, among many other examples.

Turn to the gospel of John very quickly in verse 14. Excuse me. Chapter 14 verse eight. John fourteen eight. Philip, one of the disciples, said to him, Lord, show us the father and it is enough for us.

Look what Jesus says. Jesus said to him, have I been with you so long and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the father. How can you say show us the father? Philip, with skepticism perhaps, with doubt says, Jesus, can you just show us the Father and that that's all we need?

We don't need any more proof about this whole thing. And the Lord answers him and says, how can you ask that? I've been with you and you've been with me for so long. And as I looked to this question, I realized that Philip, after three years, three years of one on one of close proximity to Christ, after hearing all those teachings, after seeing all those miracles, after being able to testify the sinlessness of Christ, eating with him and sleeping in the same tent as him, and traveling with him, has still not fully comprehend what he should have known at this point and by this moment. And so he asked a question that was that was inappropriate for somebody who's been walking with Jesus for this long.

Show us the father. Christ, like, do you not do you not realize I am one with him? Do you not realize that I I share his deity? Do you not realize that if you see me, you've seen a perfect reflection of the character and the nature of the father? And the point is this, is that when you look at Philip asking this question, how Jesus, though there is a mild rebuke here, still gentle, how how true is that of his children today who have walked with him for so long and still can't get some of the basics?

Who still don't understand, not that the fact that he's God, but that he is sovereign over your life. But he is in control that in these fearful tumultuous times, he will provide, he will perfect. Listen, you look at these things and you realize that even believers who sat through years of sermons twice a week, Old Testament, New Testament, conference after conference, YouTube sermons in between, still are not convinced of certain things about Christ. And listen, anybody in any teaching position knows how heartbreaking that is. That after you have hammered certain things over and over again, it just as though it just spilled out of the other ear.

And yet Christ here, though as a faithful teacher, does gently correct him. He doesn't look at You know what, Philip? I don't even know why it got you. It's been three years. Submit your resignation.

I'll find somebody else down the road. He's still committed to Philip. He's still ready to use Philip. He still has a plan for Philip. He doesn't put Philip on the shelf, and I thank God for that.

Because there are moments of doubt and there are moments of wonder and there's there are moments where though I've read things and I've heard things that sometimes I've really believed it and other times I've wondered, I can expect the Lord to look at me and not give up and not throw me away. To challenge me, yes, because a faithful teacher will. And my question is, how can you hold yourself back from following such a wonderful master like this? How can you not give up everything to follow him? One who will enable you and one who will be patient with you and one who will walk with you until the end.

Who is so committed to you and I for his glory, that even when we are not where we are supposed to be, in our imitation of him, in our understanding of him, he sticks with us still. That's Jesus. That's the Lord that you and I love and worship. So in this brief, brief message, you have an idea at least of who He calls, how He calls, to what He calls you and I to. Ultimately, discipleship is not about doing certain things.

That's that's that's secondary, but becoming becoming who he wants us to become. And that he is there to do whatever he needs to do to make sure that all he requires of us is a willingness to yield to that and humble ourselves to that for that to become more and more of a reality. Usually, at the end of a message like this, you're familiar with this if you come here consistently, the gospel will go forth. But I'm gonna change it this time. I wanna speak to those who I already have believed upon that revelation that Jesus Christ is in fact the savior of the world.

And I wanna ask you I wanna ask you a question. Have you lost your way? Have you lost your way in discipleship to Jesus? What do I mean by that? Have you placed your identity in something other than what he has for you?

Was there was there a moment where you were you were Lord, whatever. Yes. But at this point if you're honest, you're clutching onto things and you've made them something greater than what they should be. Do you love your family more than Christ? Do you love your friends more than Jesus Christ?

What's amazing about Peter being called, and though it is so exemplary at the beginning, you go to the end of the book of John and you realize he goes back fishing. Fishing wasn't a sin. Fishing isn't a sin. In Peter's case, it was backsliding. Because Christ called him to turn away from it, and he goes back to it when he didn't have answers for the next step, and when he was wallowing in his shame.

And yet Jesus, because people question whether Peter was doing the wrong thing when he went back fishing with his boys. All you have to do is come to the the end of that chapter and realize that when Jesus restores Peter, he looks at him and he finally says, follow me. Well, if he was following him all the way along, then why would he say that? It's because he lost his way. He lost his way and Jesus is calling him to recommit himself to complete and total discipleship.

And I wanna tell you this, that one of the tragedies one of the tragedies of the Christian life is that you see people who were once following Jesus, and they still hold on to the revelation of who he is. Peter didn't deny the fact that Jesus was alive. Peter didn't deny the fact that Jesus was in fact who he said he was. Peter just deviated from the purpose that God had called them to. And some of you might have done that.

Here's what I'm calling you to do. I'm calling I'm actually calling you to discern action. I'm calling you to discern action in your own heart that today, perhaps the busyness of life or all these different things have crashed into your soul. And where you are today, whatever God has called you to do, whether that is church affiliated ministry or not, you you don't have that zeal. You don't have dedication.

You're kinda just floating through life, and you could care less, really. You could care less. Or perhaps, again, as I said earlier, the thought of Christ calling you to do something, surrender to something, give up something is terrifying. Or perhaps you were so discouraged with a failure or a past failure that you cannot imagine ever being used by God again, and though he extends his hand, you push his hand away and say, I'm not worthy. That is trusting in your own flesh and your own ability.

I'm calling you to follow Jesus again. What I mean by that is not giving your life to him in salvation, but willing to set your life up in your soul, in your heart to say, Lord, I am yours, whatever you say, whatever you do, I wanna do it. I wanna do it. You'd be amazed to know how many Christians are not there. But the same Jesus who restored to Peter after Peter after so many years, so many preaching, so many teachings, so many miracles was still willing to restore him and say follow me.

Follow me. I've seen fathers and mothers who were burning for Christ before they had children. And after they had children and after difficulty in marriage and after all these things, they they stopped they stopped going to church, they stopped serving Christ in ministry. But in their latter years in life, they heard Jesus saying again, follow me. You once followed me.

Follow me again. And it brought revival to their home. Many people in this life are in transitional moments. You're figuring out who to marry. You are getting married.

You're getting yourself established. And with all of that, some way somehow, the cause of Christ in your heart, the zeal to serve him has been buried. Jesus wants you to get married. Yes. He wants you to walk in that way.

He wants you to be responsible. But is the priority of your life still the purpose that he has for you, whatever that looks like? I hope you would answer this call of Christ who gently says, follow me again. Lord, we ask you today in this Sunday service that as we've heard this call to discipleship, that we would reinforce our commitment to the cause. For some that is ministry, for others that is simply just being mindful of you and what we do.

Whether that's business, whether that's family, raising children or raising funds. Lord, we know that the universal call of salvation is the same, repent and believe. But we also know that each of us in here have a particular assignment. Some know that assignment, Lord. Some don't.

But we just wanna tell you this afternoon, Lord, whatever you say, we do. Whatever you want, we will give. Reignite our hearts. Pull our affections, and help us realize that you are inviting us into something unlike any other thing. And so, Lord, even for those who have been following you over these years, we wanna just take this time to worship you and tell you afresh, Lord, you are worthy.

You are worthy of my life being lived for your glory, whatever that looks like. We wanna follow you. In Jesus' name. Amen.