Called - Who to a Do!
Mark 8:34, John 15:1-5
August 16, 2020
Have you ever wondered how someone can just drop everything in their life and follow Jesus at a moments notice? Listen to the words of Jesus in Mark 8 - - - -
34 And calling the crowd to Him with His disciples,
Jesus said, “If ANYONE would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. - Mark 8:34
It’s great to get called to join. But that sounds like a call to a hard life. Take up your cross and follow Jesus.
That call doesn’t sound so easy! We’d prefer a little less stress and expectation in that call. How about let’s follow Jesus without picking up my cross. Or follow Jesus and enjoy the good life!! That sounds better.
Yet, it may surprise you, but for many of those who heard it, the call from Jesus was refreshing, even liberating.
Jesus’ offer was for who? ANYONE!! ANYONE! WHOMEVER! If you were willing to follow Jesus, you were welcome to come.
Understand the way it worked in those days. Rabbis and great teachers would have had a very specific group of followers. They would follow the rabbi’s every step.
They would be His constant companions. And that group would have been an exclusively chosen group. Only the best of the best of the young scholars would be asked to follow their rabbi.
But Jesus is offering this to ANYONE! Anyone is welcome to follow Him. That call is for the rich and the poor, the socially awkward and the socially elite; the dropout or the doctor; the addict or the health nut. The call is for the spiritual or the atheist. All are invited - - - - ANYONE - - - - come and walk with Jesus.
It’s an inclusive group. All are welcome to follow Jesus.
That’s why people like Peter and Andrew; James and John dropped their fishing nets and immediately followed Jesus. The offer was amazing.
Imagine this - - - -
You always wanted to be a technology professor. But you dropped out of high school. You just didn’t like it. So, you end up working in a small shop doing simple tech repairs. It’s the same thing everyday. You want to get out, but this is what life is for you. It’s a paycheck, and it’s tech!
Then one day this world famous IT professor walks in and he looks at you, I mean really looks you in the eye. It’s like he’s reading your soul. He says, “Come, follow me, you can be my understudy. Be my student, my disciple! I will teach you all you need to know.”
You’re in shock at this opportunity. Then he adds, “I believe in you. I will equip you to do all that I do, and even more. It won’t be easy, in fact, it will be really difficult, you will be challenged more than ever, but, you cannot imagine who you will become. You will do more than you ever thought possible. But, you have to come, now.”
What do you do? You close the shop, lock the door and you go. That’s the offer from Jesus. Drop everything you’re doing and follow me.
Here’s the thought . . . .
Before you knew Jesus,
Jesus already knew you,
He loves and believes in you!
You see, this is all part of the who. Who we are in Jesus.
It’s what we’ve been talking about for the past couple of weeks.
We have the offer to be like Jesus, to know Him and experience His power and grace; and then go into the world, taking our cross and demonstrating what the cross means as we live like Jesus.
None of this happens by accident. It’s not getting a lucky roll of the dice or making a lucky half court shot. There are no accidents in God’s kingdom. We are called to follow the Master.
In other words, we need to be with Jesus. We need to be connected to Jesus. And that’s what Jesus tells us to do. I mentioned one part of this verse last week, but I want to look a little more at what Jesus was saying in John 15.
This is Jesus’ last night, and He’s giving these final words to the disciples and to us. In John 15:1, Jesus said - - - -
1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.
4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.
5 I am the vine; you are the branches. If you abide in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. - John 15
Jesus tells us to abide in Him. It means to stay, to dwell, to remain. Jesus says it over and over in this section. From verse 4-10, Jesus tells us 10 times to abide in Him. That’s so important for us to do!
Abide in Jesus! And if we abide in Jesus, if we make our home in Him, then we will bear much fruit, for apart from Him we can do nothing.
That’s how nature works doesn’t it? A branch just can’t exist on it’s own. It must be connected to a source of life, which is the vine. The vine brings in the nutrients, the source of all life comes through the vine.
That’s why we too, must be connected to the vine. The vine is Jesus. We are the branches. If we remain in Him, if we stay connected to Him, we will be able to do great things, apart from Him, our spiritual impact will be worthless.
Here’s the thing about life . . . .
We all follow something. There’s something which defines us. When someone looks back at your time on earth - - - - even if they looked at you today, what would they say about you?
I’m not talking about your good looks, your wealth, your clothes, your cars or anything external - - - -
- - - - what would they say about your character, about the way you live your life?
You see, something defines us. It’s true for every person in this room and for every person worshiping online . . . .
- - - - what is it that defines you to the world?
It may be you’re a workaholic, or you don’t put much effort into your work, or perfectionism, or addictions. It could be your intellect, or ego, maybe it’s control.
Maybe it’s social media, or the pursuit of pleasure or the things you lust after. Maybe it’s your anger, bitterness or cold heart.
Or maybe it’s a servants heart, a gentle spirit, a devotion to Christ. It’s your ability to extend grace and peace in the midst of difficult times. Maybe it’s your submission to God’s call in your life. There’s lots of options. Both good and not so good.
If most of us were to be really, really honest, more often than not, we’re clueless. We have no clue what we’re following.
And if it’s not good, we’re usually one of the last to know. We usually find out when someone comes up to us and gives us an honest assessment of the way were living.
Sometimes we call them interventions. Are you in need of an intervention?
We’d like to say . . . . I abide in Jesus. But is it? Do we? We have the opportunity to follow Jesus. But are we? That’s going to make the biggest difference in our lives.
Remember these words from Jesus, because it all matters - - - - whatever we abide in - - - - - that is what ultimately determines the fruit that we bear.
Go back to Peter and Andrew. Matthew tells us - - - -
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. - Matthew 4
Have you ever wondered about that story? It’s mind blowing, and life altering. These guys just dropped everything. Peter was married. How do you tell the wife,
‘hey honey, I quit working for my dad today?’
OOOOH, so what’s your new job? How are we
going to pay our bills?
I don’t have one, I’m following this guy named Jesus.
I’m not sure how well that conversation went over in Peter’s home. But that’s what he did. And Andrew and James and John and Martha and Mary and so many other people who dropped everything to get connected to the true source of life.
As followers of Christ, you have been chosen by God, set apart, gifted, enabled, and empowered to fulfill a very unique calling.
Last week we were talking about our calling by God. I said your calling is more about who you are, before you go and do.
Our starting point was Ephesians 4:1, when Paul wrote --
1 Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, URGE you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called. - Ephesians 4:1
God wants you to live a life worthy of His calling. You're considered holy by God. You’ve been chosen and set apart. Church isn't just someplace that we go, it’s not an add-on to our lives, and it’s not a means to an end.
In all reality ----- WE / YOU are the church. That’s a huge and awesome responsibility.
We’ve been called, called to go into this world — — to share the power and grace of Jesus Christ. We’ve been called by God and WE ARE HIS CHURCH.
My hope is God is stirring something inside of you.
That you will be moved to draw closer to God.
That something has touched your heart, spirit and mind.
That there’s a burning fire within you which compels you to drop everything (as irrational as the world thinks that is) and follow Jesus.
Maybe you start reflecting on the call of Jesus.
You start taking the question seriously, Who am I in Jesus?
Then answering the question - - - - what type of Jesus is the world seeing by the way I live my life?
Those are not necessarily easy questions to consider. They can actually be haunting questions. But if we’re willing this will cause us to grow and move closer to Jesus and be that person we’re called to be.
Consider the words of the prophet Jeremiah - - - -
9 there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot. - Jeremiah 20:9
Isn’t that so cool! It’s so powerful what Jeremiah’s proclaiming. I can’t keep the message about God quiet. It’s like a burning fire within my soul. It exhausts me to hold it in, and in fact, I cannot. I must proclaim the good news about God.
How could someone do that in the face of persecution? That was Jeremiah’s life. He was a prophet to the nation of Judah as they were being attacked by Babylon and taken into captivity. Yet, he didn’t stop, he couldn’t stop!
If we would only recognize, and more than that, if we would believe God is calling us and empowering us for our calling to serve Him.
So, the question always comes back to what am I called to do? We think there’s something God has put out there that has our name on it. And there are so many possibilities for us.
But before we get there, we need to do the ground work. It’s cultivating that relationship with Jesus. It’s moving closer and experiencing His power and grace.
And then we can begin to move into the world and follow the calling He has for us.
This series isn’t so much about a lot of how to’s. We’ll get there! I know it can be frustrating to not hear all of the practical steps. That’s what most of us are seeking. Most of the time, we simply want someone to tell us what to do, and then we’ll consider the benefits of doing it.
But hang in there. We need to have the foundation set for us, before we can build on it.
For now, trust in the call of the Master. Jesus’ call is simple and yet life changing . . . FOLLOW ME! FOLLOW ME!
Remember this is about transformation, it’s not a transaction. It’s not enough to know about Jesus, it’s about a relationship with Jesus.
To be connected to the greatest life source ever! Jesus, the Christ!
