Disciples called by Jesus

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For all the adults who don't get to go to kids' church, you're stuck with me, I'm sorry. But as we've seen, we live in a world that's full of distractions. There's products, there's people, there's problems that all fight for our attention each and every day. And within the chaos that surrounds us, there's so much that attempts to hinder our ongoing journey with Jesus. And yet it's exactly within this busyness, within this chaos, within this fullness of our basket of life that we have God's command. It's been our key verse for this year, Psalm 40, 6, 10. In the middle of all of this, God says be still and know that I am God. And so, whether you're new to faith or whether you've been walking with the Lord for a long, long time now, there is great benefit for you and I to stop, to be still, to reflect on our discipleship journey thus far. And be reminded through Scripture of what our walk with Jesus should actually look like. And that's what we're going to be doing. Over the course of the next 10 weeks, we're going to be engaging in a discipleship case study which aims to observe the journey of the first 12 disciples with Jesus. And as we unpack how each of them journeyed through life with Jesus, our hope, our prayer is that we will discover and apply key elements for our own discipleship journey. And so, just a quick how-to before we dive into this morning sermon. This is the integrated study booklet and each study has four parts. As you open it up, you'll see some bios. That's part zero. But each study then has four parts. You've got notes for the sermon. The sermon will be the beginning of each study. So on a Sunday you can come, you can scribble down anything that stands out to you, anything that God prompts. And then after the sermon note section, you've got an introduction by each of the study writers. Chris has written a one for us to read this week. After that, you've got five daily readings to engage with throughout the week. And some have questions that go with those readings. And then there's a big long list of discipleship group questions to prompt thought when you meet together in your discipleship groups throughout the week. And can I encourage you, engage with this. It's going to be beneficial for our walk with Jesus. And if you're not in a discipleship group, can I encourage you to come see me, Pastor Doug, any of the team this morning. We'd love to get your details and create some new discipleship groups. This is the perfect time to get involved in that capacity. And so here we are, study one of the integrated study. And as has already been said, this morning we're looking at the disciples being called by Jesus. And what I want to do is I want to spend some time looking at three key examples from Scripture. And as we read through it, we're going to make some notes. We're going to highlight what is actually happening in each of these accounts. If you got your Bible's error, I'll invite you to open up to Luke chapter five. We're going to read verses one to eleven. Luke five one to eleven says, On what occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Ganesa, 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. 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 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 bought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him. One of the first accounts of Jesus calling the disciples. And what do we see? What fascinates me in the opening verses of chapter five is that Jesus was already doing the work. Jesus wasn't scouting for recruits. He wasn't going, I need an army of this many people to then be able to go out and do what God's called me to do. No, Jesus was already doing the work. He was already preaching the good news to the crowd so much so that as they pressed on him, he looked for a way to get back so that he could communicate to everyone. Jesus was already at work. And yet in the midst of this story, in the midst of this account, we see that Jesus finishes doing the bit of work that he was doing for that day. He finishes talking to the crowds preaching. And when he's done that, he turns to Simon Peter. And he reveals a glimpse of just exactly who he is and what he can do. We're told that the disciples, not yet, but the 2B disciples had been out fishing all night and they'd caught nothing. This was their profession, they were good at it. And yet here comes Jesus, a carpenter from Nazareth, finishes talking to the crowds and says, hey, go out that little bit deeper and drop your nets. And to his credit, Simon Peter listens and he goes, okay, because you say so, I'll do it. Even though we've washed down nets, I'll do it. And they catch so many fish that they need two boats to haul it in. Even then, it's a struggle. And we see here that Jesus reveals just a glimpse of who he is. Just a glimpse of his ability to sustain us, to sustain Simon Peter. And what fascinates me as we continue through this account is Simon Peter's response. He doesn't go, wow, that's amazing. Can you come fishing next Tuesday with me? He doesn't go, I'm going to be rich. After seeing a glimpse of who Jesus is, Simon Peter's response in verse eight is depart from me, for I am a sinful man, oh Lord. Simon Peter's response in having Jesus reveal just a glimpse of who he was highlighted for Simon Peter just how short he fell from God's glory. Just how sinful he was by comparison of this small glimpse that Jesus had revealed. But Jesus doesn't go, yeah, you're right, you're sinful, I'm going to keep going. He says, don't be afraid. Don't be afraid, from now on I will make you fishes of men. From now on you will be catching men. And the response of Simon Peter, James and John is that they left everything. This big haul of fish which would have sustained them forever and a day. All the things that filled up their lives, they left everything and followed him. Account number two, Luke 5, 27 to 32. This is some time after these events have happened. We read in verse 27, after this he being Jesus went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the tax booth and he said to him, follow me. And leaving everything he rose and followed him. And Levi made a great feast in his house and there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at the table with them. And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples saying, why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners? And Jesus answered them, those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. They have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. What's going on in this glimpse of history? Very truly, Levi was going about his normal day. We don't have recorded anywhere that Levi woke up and went, today's going to be a great day, my life is going to change forever. No. Levi was a tax collector sitting at a tax booth, going through the mundane rhythms of life. And then Jesus shows up. Jesus shows up, he doesn't try to convince Levi, he doesn't put on this big elaborate speech, he simply says an invitation, follow me. And we read this and I don't think we grasp how crazy this seems because after just having Jesus say, follow me, Levi responds in verse 28, and leaving everything, he rose and followed him. And what I love about the account of Levi being called by Jesus is he then invites Jesus into the mess of his world. He doesn't go, cool, I'm going to drop everything, leave everything and now I just have to be a different person, I'm going to follow Jesus being completely different of whatever he needs, I'll be that person. He invites Jesus into the mess of his world. Verse 29 says, Levi made him a great feast in his house and there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at the table with him. Not only does Levi invite Jesus into the mess of his world, Jesus willingly goes into the mess of Levi's world. And when the scribes, the Pharisees, the do-gooders, those who thought they had it all together, they questioned the disciples, they go, why is Jesus here? Surely if he's this Messiah, if he's this good, almighty Son of God, there's no way he can associate with those who are sinful and wrong. In Jesus' response, he gives us the criteria of who he calls to follow him. Verse 32, he says, I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. What's the criteria to be called by Jesus? You have to be a sinner. Thankfully the Bible tells us each and every one of us is a sinner. So we tick the criteria. Jesus didn't come to call the righteous, but for sinners to repent. John 1, 43 to 51. Different gospel account, another record for us. The next day, Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, follow me. Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathaniel and said to him, we have found him of whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. Nathaniel said to him, can anything good come out of Nazareth? And Philip said to him, come and see. Jesus saw Nathaniel coming towards him and said to him, behold an Israelite indeed in whom there is no deceit. Nathaniel said to him, how do you know me? And Jesus answered him, before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you. Nathaniel answered him, Rabbi, you are the son of God. You are the king of Israel. And Jesus answered him, because I said to you, I saw you under the fig tree. Do you believe? You will see greater things than these. And he said to him, truly, truly I say to you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the son of man. Once again, we see Jesus calls the disciples. He calls Philip. He says very simply in Jesus' fashion, follow me. And I love Philip's response, because he just doesn't go, yep, I'm dropping everything. I'm coming to follow you, Jesus. He goes, Jesus, I've got a dude, he's going to want to come. I need to go and share that you are here. And Nathaniel goes, sorry, Philip goes, he races to Nathaniel. And he goes, Nathaniel, this guy that's been promised throughout Scripture, this guy that Moses told us about, that all the prophets prophesied about, this Jesus of Nazareth, he's here, and he's told us to go follow him. And yet Nathaniel, we see in verse 46, he has doubts. He goes, nah, nothing good can come out of Nazareth. And Philip goes, you can do that, but come and see, come and see. And as he approaches Jesus, we see something fascinating. Nathaniel's not sure on how he's going to respond yet. But we see in verse 48 that Jesus knows each and every one of us personally. He knows our convictions, our struggles, our sins, and our doubts, way before he calls us. So we're going to dig into these a little bit further into the week. But from these three examples, what do we learn about our own discipleship journey? What's in these accounts for you and me here this morning? To summarize some of the key points, very truly, Luke 5.1 tells us that Jesus is already at work well before he calls any of us. He doesn't call us because he can't do it by himself. He's already doing the work. Luke 5 verses 48 shows us that when Christ reveals, even a glimpse of his nature, of who he is, what he's done, then by nature of having that revealed to us, you and I are made aware of the sinfulness of our ways. We see that Jesus calls us from wherever we are in the mundane of life. We see that Jesus already knows us personally. He knows our convictions. He knows our struggles. He knows our sins. He knows our doubts even before we respond to his call. And what we see most clearly out of all three of these accounts is that when Jesus calls, we must respond. We've got a choice. Jesus doesn't say, you have to come follow me. He doesn't say, you must follow me. He says, follow me. Question mark. Follow me. The invitation's here, but you decide. You're welcome to keep carrying this big basket of full life and things and stuff. You can try to squeeze me and compartmentalize me, but you won't really be following me. It'll just be to make you feel good. We can drop all that and you can follow me. And so that raises the question, for you and I, when Jesus says, follow me, will we, like the disciples, leave everything? Rise up and follow Jesus. Accept that invitation. Or will we cling to everything and either ignore him, or actually don't want that. This keeps my hands full enough. Or will we try to unsuccessfully squeeze him in and by doing so, not actually follow him, but kind of look like he's there? We have a decision to make when Jesus invites us to follow him. Here's the thing, though, if you go, your Bibles open up to Matthew 16 verses 24 to 26. Then Jesus told his disciples, if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. Don't just make me an added extra into the busyness of life. Let him deny himself, put the things down. Take up his cross and follow me. Whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? So the discipleship journey begins when we respond to Jesus' invitation. Jesus called to follow him. And this verse in Matthew, it doesn't say that it's going to be easy. It doesn't say, yeah, just do it as you like and all will be well. But Jesus does tell us that it will be worthwhile. If we leave the things on the ground, if we leave everything to follow Jesus, our soul will be saved. But if we don't, if we cling to the security, the things that fill up our life, what good is it? What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? This is the reality that's there. And so church, this morning, where are you at in your discipleship journey? Maybe you're here this morning, maybe you're watching online. And very truly, you're still trying to figure this out. You're not quite sure what you believe. You're not quite sure how you're going to respond to this call when Jesus says, follow me. It's daunting. It's a big commitment to leave the things of this world and follow Jesus. If that's you this morning, I need you to hear this very clearly. Jesus is saying to you, come and follow me. I will give you life and life to the full. I want to encourage you, if you're in that space this morning, don't leave this place without speaking to myself, to Pastor Doug, to a Christian family or friend that's here this morning. Don't let the opportunity pass you by. And yet I also suspect that for many of us in the room, there's been a faith or journey with Jesus that's been going on for some time now. We've responded to that initial call to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, to ask Him for the forgiveness of our sins through His death on a cross at Calvary. To repent. And so the question remains for us, how are you responding to Jesus' call to follow Him? Because yes, while there's that initial turning point, there's that initial decision. As Chris said, each and every day, we have that choice to make. Will we continue to faithfully follow Jesus? Or will we be tempted to pick back up the things of this world? Will we be tempted to turn away from Jesus and pick up these things that seem so important? We see as the Gospels progress, that the disciples were asked to do many things. Many tasks by Jesus, as He told them to follow Him, He expected them, He called them to go and do many tasks that were challenging, that stretched them, that weren't comfortable, things that they didn't think they were prepared for, things that scared them. But Jesus said, follow me. And so they went out and did these things. Why? Because they were following Jesus. But that was a decision church. You and I, there's going to be things in our life, if we're journeying alongside Jesus, that He's going to call us to do different things that may scare us, that may challenge us, that may stretch us. Jesus doesn't say, stress over it. He says, follow me. That's the invitation. Follow me. So we have a choice. If that basket represents our life, what are we going to make fill the basket? Will we follow Jesus and trust that He's got the rest under control? Or will we cling to the basket and forsake Jesus? Will we try to shove Him in on top so it looks good? But really, our hands are full. As Chris shared with me the illustration that God laid on her heart for this study, I was prompted by a well-known illustration, a well-known story. And to close, I want to share it with us this morning. The story goes that there was a young guy born into wealth. His parents had accumulated mass wealth. And his desire, ever from a young boy, was to gain as much wealth, as much security, as much goodness here on earth as he possibly could. And as he grew up, he worked hard. He put in the hours. He was a savvy businessman. He accumulated more and more wealth each and every day. And throughout his teenage years, someone shared the gospel with him. And he fully accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior. And yet as he grew older, there was a burden laid on his heart. What do I do with all this wealth? It's too good to go to waste. And so fervently, day after day, year after year, decade after decade, he prayed, he pleaded with God, God, just let me, when I come to heaven, to spend eternity with you. Let me bring my wealth. Let me show you the things that I've accumulated. Let me bring this good stuff that I've managed to collect up to heaven with you. And after days and weeks and months and years and decades of fervent prayer, God decided to amuse the idea. In a vision, he told the man, I'll allow you to bring your wealth, but you can only bring it in whatever fits in one suitcase. And so the man getting on in years goes, okay, how will I do this? What's the most valuable thing that I can get my hands on? Gold. And so he sold off all his possessions. He sold off everything he had. He made all that happen just before he died. He found a loophole. He made the suitcase out of pure gold, and he filled it with gold billions. Stacks and stacks and stacks. It was the biggest suitcase that could be classified as a suitcase. When he died, approached the gates of heaven, and an angel stuck him and said, it's so good that you're here, but you can't bring that in with you. And the guy said, no, no, no, you've got it wrong. I've got an agreement with God. I've got this sorted out. He said that I can bring this in. And the angel goes, okay, well, if that's the case, that's fine, I will need to see what's in it. A bit like airport security. I need to make sure that it's all good and cleared before you bring it in. And proudly the guy opens up this gold suitcase to show all the gold, all the wealth, all the things that he had accumulated over the years of his life here on earth. And the angel kind of nodded and said, yeah, you can take that in. But why did you bring pavement into heaven? See, the Bible tells us very clearly that in heaven the streets are laid with gold. And so even the most valuable things that we can gather here on earth, the things that seem most important are like dust, like road base in comparison to the good things of eternity with God. Matthew 16, 24 to 26 says Jesus told his disciples, if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it. But whoever would lose his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit him if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? Church, Jesus is calling. How will you respond? Will you pick up the basket full of stuff and things? Or will you accept his call, his invitation to come and follow him? Would you pray for me? Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word. Lord, we thank you very clearly through the Gospels. We are able to see Jesus' ministry here on earth. We're able to see the way in which he called each and every one of the disciples to follow him. Thank you that that call wasn't just extended to twelve, but to each and every one of us who are sinners. Thank you for your invitation to come and follow you. Lord, wherever we're at this morning, either sitting here in person or watching online. Lord, would you reveal to us anything that's hindering us from following you completely? Lord, would you help us? Not to make light of any of those hindrances. But very truly to do business with you. Lord, give us the courage, the strength to put down everything so that we may be freed up to follow you, our God. Pray this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.