Hi everyone! Hope you’re doing well this week – that you’ve sensed God’s presence with you, felt his call upon your life and seen your circumstances in a different light because of his presence and call. This last Sunday I preached from Luke 5:1-11, the text that remembers how Jesus called Peter, James and John to be his disciples. This text is so powerful that I think it’s worth considering again for a moment. I’ll piggy-back on what I said on Sunday… One point I didn’t bring out on Sunday was that Jesus tells these men “Do not be afraid.” It’s interesting to me that many times when people directly experience the work of the Lord in their lives, God offers this little reminder and encouragement – do not be afraid. Why – because we’re always prone to allow our fears of following God (and all the unknowns that this kind of faith-driven life present to us) to prevent us from actually following. It would have been very easy for Peter, James and John to say no. They had family to care for (most notably James and John’s dad, Zebedee, who’s working right there next to them!). They had financial obligations. They were being called to something they knew nothing about compared to the fishing they had been doing. They didn’t like large crowds (which were a consistent presence anywhere Jesus went). There were many reasons to say no. There were many reasons to be afraid. What are you afraid of, when it comes to being the light of Christ in the world? Are you afraid that you’ll look like an idiot? Are you afraid that you will say something dumb? Are you afraid of what his influence might do to your relationships? Are you afraid that you’ll come under some form of suffering because of Christ? Are you maybe even afraid of success in ushering others into relationship with the Lord? Or are you simply afraid that you don’t quite buy all this Jesus stuff yet? What are you afraid of? Peter, James and John had a moment to consider these things, if I’m reading the progression of the text correctly. In 5:10 Jesus says, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.” At that time the four men were still out on the water, trying to haul in this huge catch of fish. Verse 5:11 says, “When they had brought their boats to shore…” --- implication: they had several minutes (at least) to consider this offer from Jesus as they were bringing their boats in… time enough to allow Jesus’ statement to sink in. I imagine these men looking at one another on the way in, quietly asking one another, “Are you gonna go?” “I don’t know, are you?” “How can we not go?!” “Yeah, but what about dad? Whose gonna take care of him and the business if we go?” “I know, but this is could be the opportunity of a lifetime!” “For real, and I don’t think Jesus is gonna wait around while we make up our minds – I think he wants us to go with him now!”………………. and the conversation went on until they reached the shore…………….. Well, apparently the encouragement “do not be afraid,” coupled with Jesus’ invitation to follow him, sank in so deep that those men became bold enough to leave everything to be disciples of Jesus, and some of the greatest men who ever lived! While we are not able to “follow” Jesus in the same physical way the disciples did, we are called to follow him using spiritual eyes and ears. He is still discipling people today and he calls you and me to leave everything that everyone else fights to grab and hoard in order to seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness. Would you receive Jesus’ encouragement today… “Do not be afraid.” Would you leave the known to enter the unknown with Christ? May the Holy Spirit be with you as you receive his call to follow. May the love of the Father give you courage to trust that where he leads will be much holier and deeper and more fruitful than anything you can devise and carry out on your own. And may the peace of Christ fill your hearts with a contentment you’ve never known as you leave everything and follow him. Pastor Stephen
Posted on: Fri, 31 Jan 2014 12:58:33 +0000
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