Just Words:
Proclaim
Scripture Text: Mark 1.14-20
I. The Nature of the Calling
In some ways, what we’re doing today is an extension of last Sunday’s message. The “word” for last week was calling... And you-remember that-when God calls, it’s an invitation-to-follow. And the point-of following-Jesus is leaving-the-old-way-of-life in order-to-find new-life in Him!
The “word” for this week is “proclaim”. And whether you know-it-or-not, …whether you’ve-realized-it-or-not, …all of Jesus’ followers are called to be proclaimers.
That may be intimidating to you; …there are times when it’s intimidating to me, too! But, before we jump-to-conclusions, as-far-as what-this-is all-about, …let’s take a closer-look at what it means to be a “proclaimer”.
First-of-all, the Bible uses all kinds of terms and word-pictures to get-at this business of proclaiming. Christians are to be “salt in the world”; …we’re also compared to “yeast worked throughout the dough”; …we’re told to let our light shine; …and we’re called representatives of the kingdom of God. In the passage that Kenny read earlier, …Jesus uses the vivid-word-picture of “fishers of men” to describe what His followers will do.
From-all-this we see that the nature of this calling is varied and textured and takes on different nuances. How one person fulfills the call to proclaim the kingdom-of-God, …will be different from how another person will-proclaim. It depends on how God has gifted you; …and the opportunities that God places you in. But, even-though the specific-ways in-which we proclaim the kingdom may vary, …the nature of-the-call to-proclaim is the same, across-the-board: …it’s all about Jesus: …telling others about Him;
…showing others the difference that He makes in our lives; …sharing His love-and-grace with others so that they can experience God’s life-and-love. It begins-and-ends with Jesus.
II. The Timing of the Calling
James and John were employed in a family business. Peter and Andrew probably were too, for-that-matter ~ …but nothing is said about their larger-families. With James and John, though, their father was with them when Jesus came by. Now, in-those-days, the family-business was a huge-deal. It was carried-on and passed-down through multiple-generations. James and John and their-father were probably the latest in a long-line of fishermen.
Each generation in-a-family learned a trade from the previous generation. They learned-it by working-together ~ Whether it was leather-working, …or blacksmithing, …or stone-cutting, …or fishing ~ …you learned your trade from your father and your grandfather. It would-have-been common for three generations to be working together, …fathers and sons and grandsons, …working side-by-side, …sweating-out a-living. The older-generation needed the youth and strength and energy of the younger-generation. The younger-generation needed the skill and wisdom and reputation of the older-generation.
By-the-way… does this not-sound a whole-lot-like the way the church should operate!?!... Each-generation has something to-bring to-the-table! We do much-harm when we cut-ourselves-off from one another; …or, when we don’t appreciation what the other generations have-to-offer! I know that we’re-naturally-drawn to people who are in a similar stage-in-life. But, we really-do-need each other… Those in the Spring-of-life can learn so-much from those who’ve already traveled-through that season. Those in the Autumn and Winter seasons-of-life need the youthful energy of those in the Spring and Summer stages. We really-do need-each-other!
I can’t-even imagine-how James and John’s dad reacted when they left the family business! And-yet… that’s-what James and John did! It’s not-like they were being rude or disrespectful toward their dad. It’s-not as-though they hated fishing and were ready to get-out, at the drop-of-a-hat! It’s-just-that, when Jesus said, “Come, follow me”, …something stirred within their heart; …something stirred-within their belly. And-they did… right-then, …right-there, …they followed Jesus. Dad was still in the boat when his boys up-and-left!... Are you imagining the scene!?!
Does anybody remember the nicknames that the James-and-John had? [“Sons of Thunder”]
Now… I’ve often-thought that their nickname was some-kind-of reference to their temperament. In-other-words ~ they were stormy, eruptive, loud, head-strong, maybe-even violent! But, maybe they inherited their nickname from their dad! Maybe called him “Thunder” because of his temper, …and his boys were called “Sons of Thunder” because they were followin’ in dad’s-footsteps! Maybe their dad not-only taught the boys how to cast-a-net and scale-a-fish and mend-a-net; …but-maybe he also taught them how to throw-a-fit, …rant-and-rave, …and boom like the thunder, so-that everyone ran-for-cover!
I don’t-know! But what-I-do-know is that they were called “Sons of Thunder” and that suggests a whole-lot-to-me! I also-know that when Jesus came by, …they left-it-all in-order-to follow Jesus ~ …even leaving their dad high-and-dry, in the boat! It must’ve-been quite-a-scene. It must’ve-been an awful shock! I wonder whether their father started shootin’-off fireworks as he watched his two boys leave the nets and follow some-stranger, off into the distance!
Well… all that may add drama and background, …but the-thing-about God’s calling is: it-comes, when-it-comes! Can come early. Can come late. Can come as an interruption. Can come as a clarification/course correction. Just-as when Jesus called James-and-John, Peter-and-Andrew, …the call He places on our lives ~ …the call to be fishers of men, …the call to proclaim the kingdom of heaven ~ …all this happens according to God’s timing. Whenever He happens by. Whenever He calls your name. Whenever He clarifies what He wants you to do. Whenever He taps on your shoulder and shows you an opportunity to share with someone else… It’s all according to His timing. We simply have to listen and respond!
III. The Specifics of the Calling
Following Jesus means: becoming “fishers of men”. For folks who have decided to follow Jesus, the mission of “fishing” is a very-important part of our lives, now. The specifics of that call… Just, how-you-fulfill your “fishing” responsibilities, though, varies from person-to-person. It depends on how the Spirit of God leads you; …it depends on the ways-in-which God has gifted you; …it depends on the opportunities that God brings-your-way.
How you fulfill your call to proclaim… your responsibilities to “fish for men” will look-different from just-about-everyone you know! We are not all cut from the same mold! God doesn’t want cookie-cutter Christians!
I’m excited about those in our church-family who are considering a call to full-time-ministry. There are at-least six individuals who are praying and seeking God’s will on this specific issue! And they need our prayer-support and encouragement!
But, there are other ways to be a “proclaimer”… a “fisher of men”. Going on a short-term mission trip is a beautiful-thing! Whether you know the language, or the customs, or whether you enjoy eating scrambled-eggs and refried beans for breakfast ~ …mission trips are a great-example of living-out the-call to proclaim the love of God.
[Note: this sermon was preached on the week preceding the SuperBowl…]
Take, for-example, the Superbowl Party next Sunday evening…. I wanna make a confession to you: I am a recovering sports-fanatic! I used-to live-and-breathe for sports. But, God began to deal with me about this; …and I began to see that my love and loyalty to sports was competing with my love-and-loyalty to God. That was a painful awakening! I didn’t want that to be the case. I wanted to love God whole-heartedly, …putting Him first, …not holding-to any-idols. And-so, I began to change some things. And-for-me, going to worship-service on the Sunday evening of the Superbowl was my own-little-protest! It was my-way of saying-to-myself: “You’re not the same guy you once were! “Your life doesn’t revolve around sports! “You love God more-than you love football; and skipping the Superbowl is one way to show that!”
Now, I say all-that so-that you know that we’re not having a Superbowl-party as a way to skip-church and watch a football game! If that’s all-it-was-about, we’d be having our regular-worship-service right here! But, in talking with church-leaders, we decided to have this event as an outreach-opportunity. The church is-providing the venue and there’s gonna be something for everybody: …whether you’re interested in the game, or not. But, it’s a way for everyone to-invite someone that may-not want to-come to a regular worship service. Our prayer is that the Superbowl party will be a “fishing event” for our church. So, cast-your-net… and cast-it-wide!
Now… whether-or-not God calls you into full-time ministry as a pastor, or a missionary, or some other form of Christian service; …and whether-or-not you participate in a mission trip this year; …and whether-or-not you’re able to invite someone to the Superbowl party; …there’s plenty of other opportunities to be a “fisherman” for Jesus!
[LIST needs for volunteers and ministry leaders here…]
There are so many ways, …so-many-opportunities to pick-up the call to be “fishermen” for the kingdom of God! Here’s the point: if you’re followin’ Jesus, you’re called to be a fisherman! Don’t get hung up on the specifics of-how you are supposed to fish! God will show you how, …and who, …and when! Our responsibility is simply to listen and obey!
James and John ~ …were working with their dad; …but-when Jesus came by and said, “Follow me”! …they did! Peter and Andrew ~ …were working with their fishing-nets; …but-when Jesus invited them to become “fishers of men”, …they followed. Jesus didn’t tell-them (on-the-front-end) how everything-would-unfold; …But, in-the-moment, those men listened, …and they obeyed. They trusted the One who called.
Back in the Middle Ages there was a young-man who heard the call of God. And that young man left a tremendous-example for everyone who would be a faithful-follower. His name was Francis. He was from a village called, Assisi. Not-surprisingly, he is now-known as St. Francis of Assisi! And St. Francis had great wisdom-and-insight when it comes to this calling to-be proclaimers. St. Francis said:
“Preach the gospel at all times; when necessary, use words!”
I hope you’re getting the gist of what St. Francis was saying. Sometimes we think that the only way to proclaim the good news about Jesus ~ …sometimes we fall-into-the-trap of-thinking that the only-way-to-proclaim is to stand in a pulpit, …or to serve as a missionary, …or to knock-on-doors. That’s not true!
We proclaim by the way we live ~ …we let others know about Jesus and God’s love-for-them by our life-style, …by our priorities, …by our compassion and patience and long-suffering, …by how we spend our time, …what we treasure, …how we give.
CONCLUSION
Whether we realize it or not, …we’re all proclaiming something! We’re all making a statement by the way we’re living! Other-people are looking-at-our-lives, and they get-it ~ …they can see what we’re about, …and what we love, …and what our hearts are given-to.
What’s the story that your life is telling? What kind of “news” are you proclaiming? Are you “casting a net” for Jesus?
Let’s close the service by singing a prayer song. Essentially, it’s saying, “Whatever you want, Lord, I’m willing to follow You.”
…I wanna invite everyone who would say, “God is calling me to some-sort-of full-time ministry” ~ …you may-not-know the specifics of how that call is going to take shape ~ …but, if you sense that God is calling you into some-sort-of full-time-ministry, please stand.
Now, I wanna invite everyone who would say, “God has called me to serve in some specific way in the church” ~ …whether it’s as a Sunday School teacher, …or working with the teens or the children, …or serving in some ministry effort ~ …If you sense that God has-called, or is-calling you to serve in a specific-way in the church, please stand.
Now, I wanna invite everyone who knows that-this call to be “fishers of men”, …that-really, this call to be “proclaimers”, is for all followers of Jesus; …and-that, to-be-a-“fisher-of-men” is a way-of-life ~ …If you see-that we’re-all supposed to be casting-the-net for the kingdom-of-God, please stand.
Whether you know exactly-how-it-is that God wants you to go-fishing, …or, whether you’re still waiting for Him to give you the details, …or, whether you thought you knew, but you’re frustrated because things aren’t working out the way you thought they would ~ …let’s sing this prayer-song as an expression of our faith that our lives are in His hands.
Closing song:
