The Church
Matthew 4:18-25
September 18, 2022
Has anyone ever been talking to you and you silently wondered, and maybe if you were brave enough, you asked “so . . . what’s the point?”
I once had a person telling me a story about something that happened in their life and they actually said, “to make a long story longer . . .” I was like, are you serious! That’s what I was saying inside my head.
Sometimes we may wonder . . . so what’s the purpose of that? You ever wonder about that when it comes to your faith? I know that’s a pretty loaded question. Maybe you’ve asked God . . .
“Hey Lord, what’s the point in all of this?
Lord, why’s this happening now?
Geesh, God, don’t you have anything better to do?
Lord, why am I even here?
Those questions can go on and on. We ask them in many ways. I believe at one time or another we all wonder about our purpose. God’s what’s your divine plan? Please come and send me a message. A text, a call, snap me, message me . . . whatever you do, make it so obvious that I can’t miss it. Make that message have flashing lights so I know it’s you.
And sometimes we try to live our lives vicariously through others. Maybe you lived through their story. Maybe it was a movie that hit you and you started day dreaming about what you would have done and how you would have lived a far more adventurous life than you have. We often do it through our kids.
That’s what Miles Harvey was writing about in his book, The Island of Lost Maps. He wrote about the time he was in a coffee shop in Chicago and the walls were covered with trinkets from exotic places and he imagined traveling there.
Tales of adventure filled his imagination, and yet his own life was anything but adventurous. He dreamt about places like Timbuctu and Juno and French Polynesia, Madagascar and more. He longed to have his own adventures. He would find an exciting place on the map, put his finger on the spot and then say to himself, “Someday I am going there.”
Can you identify with any of those sentiments? Are you ever impatient with your life? Do you ever grow weary of the routine, of the way things are?
Are you absolutely content with where your life is heading? Is there any part of you that might like to get up from your seat and go off on an adventure? For many of us that answer is YES!!
Well, with all of this in mind, we’re starting a new series which is going to focus on the church, but not so much the universal church, but more on First Baptist Church located in Alexandria, IN, also known as small town America. And if you’re a native, please don’t take this next statement wrong. I’m not sure that’s the best slogan.
Listen to these city slogans - - -
Las Vegas: “What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas”
New York: “The City That Never Sleeps”
Hershey, Pa.: “The Sweetest Place on Earth”
Cleveland, OH: “Cleveland Rocks!”
Coachella, CA: “City of eternal sunshine”
Now think about these slogans - - -
Forestville, CA: “Poison Oak Capital of the World”
Washta, IA: “The coldest spot in Iowa”
Beaver, OK: “Cow Chip Capital of the World”
OK, I’m done with all of that. What’s the point? Talking about the church can get kind of boring for many people. Yet, without the church, or our call, we would be wandering the streets stuck in our sinfulness, with no hope for he future. The church is vital for the future. But the church isn’t the same church it was in 1960, nor in 2000 for that matter.
The church has changed, worship has changed, shoot, we’ve changed.
I want to look at a remarkable passage, we often skim over, but when you think about it, what happened is shocking.
In the gospel of Matthew, in the 4th chapter, beginning in verse 18, we read this story about Jesus - - -
18 While walking by the Sea of Galilee, Jesus saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.
19 And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
20 Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.
21 And going on from there Jesus saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother,
in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and Jesus called them.
22 Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed Him.
Who does things like this? Come follow me? BOOM! Done! Let’s go. And remember we know Peter was married. Imagine that conversation when he came home at the end of the day.
PETER CHECKING IN WITH HIS WIFE - - - -
The disciples just got up and followed this strange new rabbi. Their response is immediate. Honestly - - - - it blows me away! Have you ever thought about it? Have you ever thought about how calculating we are when Jesus says Follow Me.
“Hmm, Jesus, let me think about that for a bit. Text me tomorrow and I’ll get back to you.”
Jesus says, "Follow me," and all these hard-nosed working people suddenly drop their tools, get out of their boats, leave everyone behind, even family - - - and they go and follow Jesus.
What hits me about this story, is that it goes against common sense. It goes against our nature. We don’t just get up and go!
But then we read about the new kingdom at work. We see the power being made manifest. And you get a glimpse into why they were leaving. Listen - - -
23 And Jesus went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming
the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.
24 So His fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought Him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains,
those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and He healed them.
25 And great crowds followed Him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.
They saw the miraculous at work! Great crowds followed Jesus. They stopped what they were doing and believed, “I NEED TO FOLLOW THIS MAN!”
They saw, they experienced and they were changed, transformed. It was the power of the Spirit of God at work. The transforming power of God. When we see it, when we experience it, we can’t miss it, we know it. We may reject it for a bit, but our hearts and spirits are burning by what God has planted.
People were changed, healed, made whole. Lives changed in an instant. At the touch of the Great Physician. And who wouldn’t want that for themselves.
I’m struck by the power of the Holy Spirit that was so prevalent in those days. We call them ancient days, yet, how powerful we see the Holy Spirit working through Jesus. And we’re told that same ancient / old Spirit is available to us. The fresh wind of the Spirit is alive. Paul told the people in Ephesus, his prayer was - - -
18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which He has called you, what are the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints,
19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His great might
20 that He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, - Ephesians 1:18-20
Paul’s telling us that we have this amazing inheritance available for us, but we also have this power. The immeasurable greatness of God’s power for those who believe. That’s us!
Folks, we have this power and Paul then tells us that same power we read about in verse 20 . . . the power which raised Jesus from the dead and brought Him to heaven is the same power available for us. The Greek word is “DUNAMOS.” Which is where we get the English word - - dynamite. We have that power . . . the dynamite power of God.
So, that’s all available for the church. And when you think about it, there really shouldn’t be grumpy, crabby, mean spirited Christ followers when we have Jesus! We have this out of the world power which comes from God.
How about you? Are you interested in a more abundant, healthier, fuller, more powerful life than you may have settled for? What if Jesus could take you to a land where your wounds, sins and mistakes no longer haunt you? What if He could give you a DO-OVER, again?
What if you could experience His purpose in your life, waking up every morning with an excitement of what God is going to do in you and how you will bless others in the name of Jesus?
You see, I believe Jesus still calls us. He’s been calling you for a long time. I know I rejected the call to go to seminary for 2 years. I didn’t want to do it. I didn’t want to give up what I already had. I had material goods, but didn’t want to give them up. I was moving up the corporate ladder. I was living a private Christian life. Very few people knew about my involvement in the church. It was safer that way. Know what I mean? You ever play it safe? Most of us do.
The end result is we don’t experience the purpose and passion of the call of Christ. It’s a calling and commitment to follow Him. But what He offers us is freedom, hope, grace, mercy, power, presence and so much more. Then He tells us we can have the same power He had, that we can even do more than Jesus. He calls us priests, believing we will go and change the world in the name of Jesus. He calls us His kids! Imagine that!!
That’s what God has for the church. This is just the start of the series. I want you to know God is calling you!! It isn’t going to come in a long winded message. He’s not going to hit you over the head and say “come on, let’s go.” He’s not going to text you tonight and the ring tone will be your favorite song.
It’s going to be Jesus walking along and catching your eye . . . and He’s going to look at you. He’s going to stare you down, He’s going to smile . . . one of those “I gotcha kind of smiles” and He’s going to say - - - -
FOLLOW ME . . . FOLLOW ME
into the extraordinary life. Follow me to the life of freedom. Follow me to the life of purpose. Follow me on the greatest adventure you will ever go on. Follow me and know that I will never abandon you, I will never fail you, I will never forsake you. I will be with you to the end of the ages.
As we come towards the end of our time, we’re starting this journey into looking at the church and how it impacts our lives. The hope is that each of us will gain a newer and greater sense of God’s call in our lives.
For a moment, I want you to imagine Jesus leading you on a wild, unpredictable, magnificent, transforming journey with Him. Imagine gaining such closeness to Jesus as He continually fills you, infuses more and more of the power of the Spirit within you, so that when people meet you, they actually think, I'm meeting Jesus. What if He could do this in you?
Imagine Jesus filling you from the very center of your being, from beyond yourself with a love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control that resulted in the fact that no addiction or seduction, no temptation could ever own you again.
Imagine you had such power from Jesus - - - - that no enemy could ever faze you again, that no storm could ever destroy you . . . again?
What would you say? Would you say yes? You don’t have time to think about it. I hope you would say YES! YES!! YES!!! We would say yes to the offer of having a full and abundant life by following Him. The truth is Christ has called you. He’s calling you to that kind of life and to that kind of an adventure.
I’m going to stop here! More next week about this adventure with Jesus. For now, know, trust, believe Jesus is calling you . . .
FOLLOW ME
FOLLOW ME
