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February 1, 2012
Following Jesus In The
Central Valley
Jesus, while walking
by the Sea of Galilee saw the two brothers Simon and
Andrew fishing. Jesus said to them, "Follow
me, and i will make you fishers of men."
Immediately they left their nets and followed
Jesus. Later, Jesus saw two other brothers, James
and John, in a boat with their father mending their
nets. When Jesus called to them the two brothers
left their boat and their father and followed
Jesus. (Matthew 4:18-22)
To be a disciple of
Jesus we must follow Him.
These disciples were
simple Galilean fishermen, rough, unlearned, elementary
men governed by Jewish passions and prejudices and
narrow in their outlook. Before they could become
fishers of men, they would have to learn how to live in
a way that relied upon the power of the Spirit of
God. Jesus says, "Follow Me, and I will make
you fishers of men."
Matthew records what
the disciples were doing at the moment Jesus called
them. Peter (Simon) and Andrew were casting their
nets into the sea. That is what they knew how to
do and what their abilities were. Jesus teaches
them to cast nets for men. As the account goes on
we see how Andrew becomes the disciple who brings people
to Jesus, even as he's brought his brother Peter to
Christ. Peter becomes the great evangelist when,
on the day of Pentecost, he preaches the gospel to three
thousand people.
James and John were
doing something else. They were mending their
nets. This is their skill and ability. The
Greek word for "mending" has the idea of equipping
and/or preparing. Just as James and John were
equipping their nets (getting them ready) when He called
them, Jesus teaches them to mend nets as fishers of
men. They would do ti as teachers equipping the
saints.
This is an encouraging
thought because it means that when Jesus calls us to a
ministry He assumes the responsibility to teach us
everything we need to learn in order to fulfill that
calling. As we follow Him (yield our lives to Him)
He will equip us and use us, our abilities and
personalities, to fulfill His calling.
In a very real sense,
following Jesus means learning to do life as if Jesus is
the one doing our life. Put simply: Doing my
life Jesus' way.
Creekside is a unique
part of God's work here in the Central Valley and
beyond. God is calling people to salvation and
life with Him. God has called us to follow Him in
His ministry.
Someone has said,
"There's a fine line between fishing and standing on the
shore life an idiot."
Left to our own
wisdom, planning, and programs we would have a seriously
ineffective ministry as a congregation. Laughable
if the consequences were not so serious.
We need to learn how
to fish. We need to know fish and what catches
them. Are we learning to be the congregation which
God has called us to be and to uphold the uniqueness of
that community in a way which compels all men to come to
Jesus as their Savior?
A huge part of our
learning takes place during individual and corporate
study, prayer, fellowship, worship, and service. A
huge part of our learning comes as we share our faith
and life with others who also need to follow Jesus with
their lives. A huge part of our learning is a
result of being teachable.
Following Jesus means
a whole lot more than just agreeing that He knows where
He's going. Are we willing to follow Jesus
wherever, whenever, and into whatever He leads us?
Are we willing to be used by Him to reach others with
the gospel? To be a part of His ministry of
discipleship?