What would cause you to drop everything and do something completely different? While in seminary there were several times where when I was studying my friends would try to pull me away from those studies to do far more important things, or so they said. These things included going to IHOP at ungodly hours of the night, and watching serious films to advance our theological education, films like Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings. Okay, so it doesn’t take much to pull you from your collegiate studies. But what about your livelihood? What would it take for you to leave your job and to follow someone around the country, not knowing for sure where your next meal would come from? I think most of us would have to think long and hard about that one. This morning I want you to think about what is holding you back from dropping everything and running toward Jesus.
Would you pray with me?
Introduction – My name is Simon, and some call me Peter. I have a brother, Andrew. We fish a lot. In fact, its what we do for a living. Our family owned a fishing company. It was called The Rock Fishing Company. Its came from a nickname I had along with the land around Galilee. People always said I was the stable one, the rock. I was the one that everybody trusted. This was all before Christ gave me the name Peter. Our fishing company did pretty well. Oh, we had rough days, when we couldn’t catch a thing, but then we just through our nets on the other side of the boat. Oddly enough that would work sometimes. Most often that was after Jesus came around though.
Have you heard of Jesus? He was quite a legend in our area. It started with the stories surrounding his birth. Supposedly his mother was a virgin. Most of the towns around didn’t believe that story at all. We just thought Joseph was crazy for going through with the marriage. They say the night he was born all sorts of people came to see him. Of course that was in Bethlehem. Not too much happens down there. Then there were those kings that came to see him. Evidently they brought some pretty expensive gifts. It was enough to fund their trip to Egypt. They spent a few years there before coming back. It’s a good thing too. It just so happened that while they were in Egypt all the children about the same age as Jesus were killed. It was awful. It was all over the Jerusalem Post. You see the Roman authority had heard that Jesus was royalty of some kind and they couldn’t stand anyone challenging their authority. So they went on a rampage. I don’t know what we are going to do about these Romans, but we can’t continue to live under fear of death for every little action. Now, don’t get me wrong. There have been some pretty amazing improvements to the region. We now have paved roads, and those who don’t have fresh water, don’t have to go too far to find aqueduct with fresh running water. It is quite a price to pay for those conveniences. We were all praying for the Messiah to finally come. We knew that God had prophesied a Messiah for times like this, but where was he? When would he come and save us from this terrible situation? When would he come to restore the glory of Israel? We didn’t know, so we had to wait.
This is where I was when Jesus entered into my life. I was waiting. I wasn’t necessarily waiting on the Messiah, but I was waiting for some fish. Andrew was with me. We had been talking about everything. It can be a very long day; sometimes the conversations can go all different directions. We were in the middle of talking about Andrews’s prospects in marriage when we heard someone calling to us from the shore. We couldn’t hear him very well and the fish weren’t cooperating that day, so we pulled our net up and went in closer. It was Jesus. He asked us if we would follow him. Then he told us that if we did he would make us fishers of men. We weren’t completely unfamiliar with Jesus. We had been interested in him ever since John baptized him.
I don’t know how to describe the event to you. You won’t believe what we did next. We followed him. We just dropped our nets and left them there. There was something about him; there was something about the way he looked at me. It was almost as if he knew everything about me. He knew the good and the bad. I just felt like if I followed him I would find something I had been looking for my whole life. Andrew felt the same way. What were we going to tell our father? He had worked so hard to get this fishing business up and running and now, I, Peter, the rock, was going to crush him with this news. I just didn’t know how to break it to him. What was I going to tell my wife? What was I going to tell my children? We had our own house, but that was paid off, and I knew that if I could sell my father on it, that he would take care of my wife and children in my absence. I had to follow Jesus. I knew that if I didn’t I would be missing out on what I was meant to do with my life. All this sounded like teenage rubbish. This would have been expected from my brother, but not from me. My father would tell me that I was a disappointment to him and that I was throwing my life away. My wife would probably start crying and not be able to understand why I wanted to leave her. It didn’t matter though.
I told my father about what had happened. He took it oddly well. He said that if it was meant to be then God would take care of everything. He promised to take care of my wife. As I told my wife, she could see the passion in my eyes. I told her that she would be cared for and that there was nothing to worry about. I told her I would see her every chance that I got. She too was amazingly supportive. Tears were shed of course, but they were not out of anger, but of sadness for what she knew lay ahead. So, I left and I followed Jesus. There were days when I could still help my father out, but overall I was with Jesus. We weren’t the only fishermen who had followed Jesus. There was also James and John. Each day was a new adventure. He was insistent with his message. He told people that they needed to repent for the kingdom of God was at hand. Some people understood and listened to Jesus’ call. Jesus even told the Pharisees the same thing. They didn’t like that at all. They thought they were perfect. Little did they know that was only the beginning of their sin.
As we started to travel Jesus continued to tell people about the Kingdom of God. The group that Jesus had gathered was also very interested in what Jesus was saying. There were 12 of us. We were enthralled with this new kingdom that Jesus was talking about. We came to quickly believe that we were in the company of The Messiah, the very one that would save us from the tyranny of the Romans, the very one that would bring the glory of Israel back. Once we were settled with this we wanted to know more and more about what this kingdom would look like and where we would be in the kingdom. We wanted to know who would be in power and who would have the most of it. Jesus assured us that we didn’t quite understand. Sometimes he would get frustrated with how selfish we were. We didn’t get it yet.
Jesus then started to heal people as we passed them. He helped a blind man to see. He cured many lepers. He brought sick children back to health. He even brought the dead back to life. People were amazed. More and more crowds seemed to follow us around from town to town. In one place that we stopped there were ten thousand people that had gathered. We were overwhelmed. Jesus needed us more and more to help control the crowds so that all could hear his message. Everyone was hungry to hear about this kingdom that was coming.
I was beginning to think leaving that fishing gig was worth it. Can you imagine what I would have missed if I had stayed on that boat? Then things started to get ugly. People started to turn on Jesus because of the priests and Pharisees. Then they started to come after us. Jesus was taken, crucified and then the story was over. It was a great ride. We had a lot of fun, but it looked like all those dreams we had have now come to an end. Then Jesus appears again… he asks us to continue the work he had taught us to do. There was a message to spread and people needed to hear that God loves them. People needed to know that they could have a relationship with God that wasn’t just going to the temple to make a sacrifice. A relationship that was close and personal.
We were all at another point in our lives. Do we continue on with Jesus or do we go back to doing what we were doing before? That’s kind of where you are this morning. You have heard all about Jesus. You have heard about his wonderful miracles. You have heard about his call to repent for the kingdom is near. Do you believe? For me it is a little easier, I have seen with my own eyes the miracles that Jesus has brought about. You have had to live by faith. The same call is placed upon you this morning. Jesus is calling to you: “Come follow me” It could be quite a journey. I can’t tell you where it will lead you. It lead me all over the Mediterranean world. I lived by faith the people would feed me, clothe me, and house me. They did. God never let me down when I put my faith in him. Now, things may not have gone how I wanted them to go. I may have had to change my point of view several times, but it was then that I could see God working in me most.
So what will you do? Will you drop everything and run to Jesus? Will you follow him? There is an exciting Journey waiting for you if you will. It’s more than just coming to church. It’s following the great commission that Jesus gave us. We are to go and make disciples of our friends, neighbors and coworkers. We are to bring them to be baptized and to teach them, so that they too can go and make disciples.
I have to tell you that I chose once again to drop everything and run after Jesus. Once I did that my life was a whirlwind of excitement and drama. My wife was pulled in too. She became quite a witness for Jesus. I can’t imagine what life would have been like if I had just stayed and fished for the rest of my life. I know it wouldn’t have been anywhere near as exciting.
As I said before, if you listen closely you will hear Jesus calling you today. Come follow me, drop everything and run! He says that he will take care of you, through every day, over all the ways; he will take care of you. I ask you again, what will you do? There is a decision to be made this morning. You can continue in your ways, or you can invite Christ to come into your life and take control. I have to tell you though, when Christ is in the drivers seat, you may just want to wear your seat belt. When you choose to put Christ in the driver’s seat, I can tell you for sure that your life will never end. Jesus will continuously be at your side. It is a comfort beyond what you could ever imagine.
What is holding you back from following Jesus? It could be work. It could be family. It could be fear of embarrassment. It could be fear of letting someone else control your life. I had all those fears, but I knew that I had to follow no matter what. I felt that way, not only because he called me, but because there was a desire in my heart for something more in life. I knew that Jesus could fill that hole. He calls you today. He will fill your every desire. No longer do you need to run around trying to satisfy the longings of your heart and soul.
So I ask you, what will you do this day? How will you respond to the call? Will you drop everything?
Pray with me.
