“The Call to Ministry”
Mark 1:16-20
In the last message we looked at the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness. Now we see that Jesus came out of the wilderness after his battle with Satan to declare the Kingdom of God was at hand. But the Kingdom of God does not exist in a vacuum it calls for people to operate in its reality and power. The Lord began by calling his disciples.
One day, when Peter and Andrew, James and John were on their usual work as ordinary fishermen, Jesus came by the shore of Galilee and called them to follow Him with a promise to make them “fishers of men”. They never expected that moment. They never planned that appointment with Jesus. Never did they know that that was the most significant pivotal point of their lives.
From their individual calls we see that what he said to them is repeated in the life of every Christian. All Christians are called into the service of the Lord and it is THAT call to ministry that we will consider together today.
The text reads, “And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. (17) Then Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” (18) They immediately left their nets and followed Him. (19) When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets. (20) And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him.” (Mark 1:16-20)
Remember that Mark’s Gospel is told from Peter’s perspective, so it is little wonder that it is full of details that only a fisherman would remember. In seeking to understand this passage I would like to ask and answer five questions concerning the call of Christ.
First, Who Does the Lord Call?
We are tempted to think from Mark’s words that Jesus had only to speak and without a moment’s hesit-ation the four mesmerized fisherman fell into step and followed Jesus. But that is not the way it happened. This is not the first contact that Jesus has with these men, in fact the events told in John 1:35-43 occur between Mark 1:13 and Mark 1:14. At least two of the fisherman, Andrew and Simon Peter, had been followers of John the Baptist. And no doubt all of them had heard Jesus preach and teach and had talked about His message and His actions. They knew that John the Baptist had pointed Jesus out as the “lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).
Jesus on his part had noticed them and picked them out as men of potential. He had been calling them persistently and waiting patiently for some time – just as he does with us. Now he appears again and this is their official call to a life of continual discipleship.
Notice with me that the Lord calls Ordinary people. 1 Corinthians 1:26-29 reminds us that God delights in calling ordinary people. “For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. (27) But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; (28) and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, (29) that no flesh should glory in His presence.” The men who Jesus called to be his disciples were just ordinary people. If we think about what these men will be called upon to do, it is astonishing that Jesus chose these men. They were not educated men, indeed they had much to learn before they would be qualified to do the task that would be committed to them. Perhaps even more important they had much to unlearn, they were exceedingly narrow minded and were full of Jewish prejudices, animosities and misconceptions. They were just men, a mixture of good and bad, of grace and the old sin nature, of spiritual insight and immaturity. They were not the aristocrats or theologians but ordinary men. In fact God delights to use ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary things. Abraham Lincoln is purported to have said, “God must love the common people He made so many of them.” It is true that later, some very signi-ficant individuals from the world’s standpoint are chosen, the Apostle Paul being one. He was a very educated man, a very intellectual man called to follow the Lord. But by and large the people called to follow Jesus were just ordinary, everyday people, just like you and I.
Who Does God Call – He calls Ordinary people…
Secondly, When Does the Lord Call?
He not only called ordinary people, but He called busy people. They were in the midst of living their lives, running their businesses. It is still true today, should something need done do not chose someone who is not doing anything, find someone who is very busy and ask them to help, because they are the people that get things done. Sadly, though many people today are too busy to follow Christ. They are so busy living their lives that they go away without responding to the call when it comes. There are also those who once followed Christ but are now too busy to respond to the call.
The Lord calls those who would follow Him in the middle of their daily routine. It is sometimes assumed that God only calls in the midst of something specta-cular. But a examination of the people that God has called into the ministry will reveal that He has over and over called people to serve Him right in the middle of their daily routine. He called David as he kept his father’s sheep. He called Gideon as he threshed grain. Mark discloses that Matthew is called as he worked for the IRS. (He was a tax collector). Peter, Andrew, James and John were called as they ran their fishing busi-nesses.
When Does the Lord Call – he calls in the midst of their daily routine….
Third, How Were They Called?
It is a personal call, Jesus said “follow me” – they called By Christ and To Christ. They were not called to a cause - it was not “follow my political agenda.” They were not called to a creed (doctrine) - it was not “follow my ideas.” They were not called to a religion -it was not just “follow my example.” They were called to a person - it was “follow me.” It is a call to allegiance to a person. Perhaps no scripture better illustrates that than 2 Timothy 1:12. Paul here testifies, “… I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.”
How Were They Called – they are called by Christ and to Christ…
Fourth, What Were They Called To?
The call from Christ to “come follow me” is a call that demanded a response. They had to do something to bring it about. Yes, Jesus calls but the responding is up to us, we make the decision.
There is a threefold call…
•They were called to Salvation
This had obviously already occurred here. These men had already accepted Him in that capacity.
•They were called to Commitment.
Jesus always calls us to follow Him – to leave our former commitments and head in a new direction with Him. We cannot follow Christ until we are willing to forsake our own plans and wishes! The King James Version translates verse seventeen that these men “forsook their nets.” I like that translation because it conveys the sense that these not only left their nets and old way of life but that they abandoned it. The word “follow” - means “commit to me,” it literally means to follow as a disciple and implies personal devotion. It is a call that is to be accompanied with an understanding of its seriousness. To be a disciple, Jesus warned is not a step for the hesitant. Jesus said, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the Kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:62). Jesus knew that commitment is essential because those who are easily persuaded to follow, just as easily give up when the going gets rough.
A good illustration of the kind of commitment that Christ demands can be found in history.In 1519, Cortez landed at Veracruz, Mexico with the intention of the conquest of Mexico. Do you know what the first thing that he did was?-he burned all eleven of his ships. He now had no way back, he was committed to the task before him. The Lord Jesus Christ has called us to that kind of commit-ment.
•They were called to Service
The call to discipleship ought to shatter our comfortable world of middle-class discipleship, we are not called to be onlookers, or pew-warmers, we are not called to give ourselves casually or occasionally, but rather His call is to lifelong process of transformation. We may not be called to sell everything and live in poverty but we are follow Him all the time. That does not mean that everyone is called to leave their present job and enter full time ministry or be career mission-aries. But everyone ought to have wrestle with the idea. We belong to him all the time! No matter where we go, or what we do – in every relationship
Somehow some Christians have the erroneous idea that in Heaven they will be sitting in one place without anything to do. That is not Heaven, that is a nightmare. Heaven is service to the Lord. Perhaps that is where the idea that once one is saved all that is expected of the Believer is to sit in the pew and soak. But, God has gifted each individual and has called all to a life of service. The example of the original disciples was that the call was to salvation, commitment and service.
The call of Christ is a call that begins at salvation, leads to a call to commitment and service..
Fifth, What Were They Called To Do?
In closing I want you to see that Jesus promises to make us something we could never be without Him. Verse seventeen says, “follow me …and I will make you fishers of men.” Jesus literally declares, “I will make or I will cause you to become fishers of men.” We will return next week to examine at length what it means to be “fishers of men” but for now I want you to see that the text suggests to us that not only does Jesus equip these men fully for the task to which he calls them, but He also plans to do it in a way that retains the personality of each. (This is suggested in what Mark records that these men are doing at the moment Jesus calls them.)
Peter and Andrew were casting their nets into the sea, throwing circular nets out on each side of the boat in order to catch fish. This may suggest that they were to become evangelists. For Peter, the divine plan involved public preaching, as at Pentecost when thousands were converted or Andrew, it involved his personally leading others to Christ as he had his brother Peter. But, James and John were doing some-thing else - they were mending their nets. The Greek word for “mending” is the same word which appears in Ephesians 4:12, where Paul says that pastors are to equip (mend) the saints to do the work of the ministry. James and John were equipping their nets, getting ready, when Jesus called them, so this would be the work they would be doing as fishers of men. For James, the call was ultimately to include the administrative leadership in Jerusalem. For John, it was a long pastorate in Ephesus. [Suggested by Watchman Nee. “What Should This Man Do?”]
For each of the four men who were called, their services were different, but to each belonged equally the designation “fishers of men.” God has called each of us to ministry but that call is in line with our person-alities and giftedness. It’s up to us to do as they did. Their response was that they “immediately left their nets and followed Him.”
Conclusion
I’m thankful for the simple invitation of Jesus. Think of how it worked out in the lives of those first disciples. When Jesus met them on the shores of Galilee, they were simply uneducated fishermen who were slowly growing in their awareness of who the Lord Jesus really was. We read of their mistakes and missteps throughout the Gospel accounts. But by the time we get to the book of Acts, these same men were turning the world upside down.
Acts 4 describes how the apostles bravely preached the Gospel before the hostile Jewish ruling council and how in verse twelve Peter proclaimed, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved:” And the very next verse, Acts 4:13, gives the response of the audience: “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.”
They followed Jesus as best they could; and Jesus kept His promise to make them fishers of men. That’s the pattern for all of us who are Christians. First we are followers, and then He makes us fishers. The
invitation still stands, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.”
“The Call to Ministry”
Mark 1:16-20
First, ____________ Does the Lord Call?
He calls ____________________ people (1 Cor. 1:26-29)
Secondly, _______________ Does the Lord Call?
Third, ____________ Were They Called?
They called ______ Christ and ______ Christ
Not to a ______________
Not to a ______________ (doctrine)
Not to a __________________
They were called to a ________ - it was “follow me.” (2 Tim. 1:12)
Fourth, What Were They Called To?
•They were called to ____________________
•They were called to ____________________
•They were called to ____________________
Fifth, What Were They Called To _____________?
