The first thing we should notice about this story is that Jesus called Peter, Andrew, James and John while they were casting their net into the sea and the reason they were casting their nets into the sea, no surprise here, was because they were fishermen. I always laugh when I read that line and wonder to myself, why did Matthew feel the need to add that explanation? I mean, why else would these men be casting their nets into the sea? I’m not sure fishing was much of a pastime in those days, I don’t think life allowed for pastimes and hobbies in Jesus day because people had to work so hard just to survive. There wasn’t a lot of leisure time so if men were casting a net into the sea everyone would have known that it was because they were fishermen, so why does Matthew feel the need to add that particular explanation? Maybe it is to let people know that Jesus called these men while they were working. He called them on the job, in the middle of their day, right in the middle of their ordinary lives.
God calls us to follow him right in the middle of our lives, right in the middle of our day, even as we are working. The call of Jesus doesn’t always come on the mountain top when we are on a spiritual retreat, many times Jesus calls us as we are loading the dishwasher after supper, or driving our children to soccer and band practice, and at work. God doesn’t just call us when we are still and quiet and waiting for him in times of worship, he calls us in any moment and maybe in every moment of our lives. God may be calling us in this moment of worship, but God might also call us as we are watching the Steelers play tonight, God might call us as we are driving to work tomorrow morning or getting ready for bed tonight.
Just as Jesus approached these fishermen while they were working, so Jesus comes to us in the ordinariness of our lives and to me this is a good thing because it means that God accepts us for who we are in this moment and God is willing to use us today with all our good and not so good qualities. Notice that Jesus doesn’t tell these fishermen to go and get themselves ready to follow him, they don’t have to clean up their act or clean up their lives or even put on clean clothes – they just have to be willing to go. If you are thinking God can’t use someone like you for his purpose and for his kingdom, you are wrong. God can, and I believe that God wants to use all of us for his purpose and if that is true then God is just waiting for you and for me to hear his call to follow him. So I invite you in the ordinary moments of this day and this week to look for Jesus coming to you and listen for God’s call to follow him.
So Jesus calls us in the ordinariness of life to follow him, but why? Why does God call us? Why did Jesus call these 4 men? I’ll tell you why, because God saw in them potential. While the world saw fishermen – Jesus saw fishers of men and women, and today God sees more potential in us than we can possibly imagine and God wants to use that potential, God wants to use us to be part of something big, bigger than us, bigger than our jobs, our families and even our lives – God wants us to not only be part of his kingdom he wants us to use us to build his kingdom.
Did you notice that twice in the passage it says that Jesus saw them? Look at Matthew 4:18 and 4:21. Jesus saw them, but what exactly did Jesus see? Did he just see fishermen? Did he just see brothers hard at work? I don’t think so, I think Jesus saw all their strengths and skills and potential. I think Jesus saw men of passion, purpose, and power and because of their potential he called them to be part of something that would change all of human history.
I think when God looks at us he doesn’t see what the world sees; I don’t think God sees simple moms and dads. I don’t think Jesus sees teachers, nurses, accountants, researchers or PS employees, I think what Jesus sees is potential. And when God looks at his church he sees all that is needed to change the world; I believe when God looks at this church he sees all that is needed to change our community, our county, our state and nation and world. Right here today is all that God needs if we would simply follow Jesus.
Think about this with me, walking along the beach Jesus saw 4 men who really only knew one thing – fishing, they knew about tides and water temperature and the best times of the day and year to catch fish. They knew about nets and boats and bait and that was it, they were fishermen because that was what they were good at and that was all they knew in that moment, but when Jesus looked into their hearts and souls he knew they possessed all that would be needed to start a movement that would the hearts and lives of people. Now think about the people who are gathered here this morning. Together we know more than just fishing. The combined talent and skills and resources of this gathering is far greater than what these 4 men possessed and so when God looks at us today I think he sees even greater potential than what he saw in those 4 fishermen, which means that God sees us having the potential to change people’s hearts and lives which in time can transform our world. When I think about this, it overwhelms me, and it excites me because I want to be part of something big, I want to be part of ushering in God’s kingdom and I want God to use me to my full potential to help do that.
If you also want to be part of something big, something bigger than yourself and honestly something bigger than this world but are feeling like you either have nothing to offer or that you are not living up to your full potential, then take heart because Jesus sees you. Jesus sees our potential, he sees our strengths and gifts and the unique way God has formed us and if we want to be fully used by God – God will use us. Jesus knows what we were created for and what we learn from Matthew here is that Jesus will call us to reach that full potential as we follow him. That’s what Jesus did with Simon, Andrew, James & John, he saw their potential and when others had given up on them or thought all they would ever amount to in this world was being a decent fisherman, Jesus called them to reach a greater potential by following him.
Jesus calls us in the ordinary moments of life because he sees our God given potential to be part of building His kingdom and I believe that more than anything Jesus wants us to reach that potential and be part of a spirit led movement that will change the world. Whether it is working to share with people the good news of God’s grace and helping people place their faith and trust in Jesus Christ, or working for justice in places in this world that only know oppression and persecution, or helping to meet the physical needs of people around the world, God wants us to be part of a world-wide movement that will bring hope and healing and faith and freedom to everyone - all that is left is for us to respond.
When we look at the response of Peter, Andrew, James and John, we have to admit that their response is radical. 4:20 – Immediately they left their nets and followed Jesus. 4:22, Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed Jesus. I have to be honest and tell you that I don’t have any explanation for how they did this? How does someone immediately leave behind their business, their job and all the financial support and security that brings? How do you leave behind a family that needs you and is counting on you to provide? I don’t know, it is a radical step here, but let’s also put it in it’s full context. While they did immediately drop their nets and follow Jesus, we know that their fishing business did fold because there were times when these men returned to fishing, so the boats didn’t get sold that day, and the nets weren’t thrown into the trash, but these men did make an immediate decision to turn from all the significance, success and security that could be found in their business to find something greater in Jesus and that really is the question we have wrestle with. Are we willing to turn away from the significance, success and security that we find in our jobs, homes, families and finances to follow Jesus? And what will it look like for us to follow Jesus?
Dropping our nets and following Jesus may not mean leaving our job today or any day, God may simply want us to live for him at our jobs. Following Jesus can’t mean that we leave our families behind to fend for themselves, we have a responsibility to our families, but following Jesus might mean helping turn our families to God and together living life a new way. I am not sure we can know today what following Jesus is going to look like in its totality, but we can make the decision today to follow him and then allow Jesus to show us what this will mean. But just that step is a radical step of faith because agreeing to follow Jesus and signing up to be part of something larger than ourselves will bring changes to our lives in the days and weeks and years to come. We will change and life will change when we follow Jesus.
Because change is a part of following Jesus, following Jesus is radical and there is no way around it. Living for God in this world is radical because it calls us to drop our nets. We have to let go of all those things in this world that bring us security so that we can trust God more. So maybe one of the first steps in following Jesus is to identify the nets that we have to drop? What are things in our lives that we might need to let go of and get rid of in order to really follow Jesus? I can’t answer that for you, I have a hard enough time answering that for me, but here’s what I want to encourage us to do, can we take this call to follow Jesus seriously and begin to identify the nets in our live that we need to drop, and can we ask God to show us how to let them go, and then can we ask God to give us the courage and strength to do it.
Next Steps:
Think Ordinary – think of three ordinary moments during this coming week when God might appear and call you to follow him. While God may not pick those particular moments, identifying them might prepare you for the moments when God does appear.
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Dream Big – If I could be part of a world-wide Spirit-led movement, what would it be? If I could make a difference in this world, what would it be? Dream Big and look for the hidden potential we possess to help make that dream become a reality.
Think about this for us at Faith Church as well.
Identify Nets – What are the things that hold me back from those Big Dreams? What are the things that hold me back from really following Jesus? What are the nets I don’t want to let go of? Don’t worry about dropping the nets, there will be time for that, simply identify the nets and begin to pray for God to show us what life without the nets will look like.
