One of the things about starting a new sermon series is that I am never sure how it is going to develop regarding content (it must be Biblical of course) and structure (especially as it relates to application). Last week I said to you that I wanted this series to be practical and helpful to you and that reminded me of a goal that I had when I started this series.
I started this series on experiencing spiritual breakthroughs with the intention of offering you one or two suggested resolutions each week. We are now into week three and I have not done that. (So I guess that means I get to offer you six resolutions today!)
Seriously I want to begin this morning with two suggested resolutions as a summary of our past two Sundays together. Here they are: (Overhead 1)
I resolve, with the help of God, to fully commit myself to following Christ no matter how or no matter where it leads me.
I resolve, with the help of God, to honestly deal with sin in my life by honestly confessing it and dealing with the root cause(s) of it in my life.
This morning we are going to discover some ways that we experience spiritual breakthroughs by cultivating a consistent walk with the Lord. This resolution is a continuation of the first two because as we commit ourselves to following the Lord and as we honestly deal with sin and the root causes of sin in our lives, we establish a base for developing a consistent and steady walk with the Lord.
Our text for this morning gives us several very important word pictures that we need to deeply look at. (Overhead 2)
Word picture number one – Come! The first word out of Jesus’ mouth is one of decision and action.
It is a word of decision because in this situation Simon Peter and Andrew have a choice to make – “Am I going to go with Him or not?” It is a critical decision and one that each of us makes on a regular basis.
The decision has implications to it – important implications. For example, Simon and Andrew, in choosing to follow Jesus, are going to be making some major changes in their lives. They are going to give up their regular jobs and income. They are going to live off the generosity and sacrifice of others because nowhere in the Gospel accounts do we read of them resuming their work until after the crucifixion (and then for a brief period of time).
So the decision to “come with Jesus” is filled with occupational and economic uncertainty. Maybe that is why Jesus tells the Twelve early on “Don’t worry about everyday life – whether you have enough food, drink, and clothes.
Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs and he will give you what you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern.”
The invitation of Jesus to “COME!” is also a word of action because those that Jesus calls to “COME!” cannot be inactive. Come implies movement. We tell our kids, “Come here!” Which means that we want them to physically move from the place where they are to the place where we want them to be.
And sometimes they come right away and sometimes they require…some…persuasion to come. Just like we do with the Lord.
Simon and Andrew, as well as the other disciples could not stay where they were when Jesus said, “Come!” Matthew had to leave his tax practice when He called. (Talk about economic security!) Nathaniel (who is most likely Bartholomew) had to leave behind his prejudices and attitudes.
In fact, Jesus’ words to Nathaniel give evidence of the spiritual breakthroughs that he and the rest of the disciples would experience over the next three years they were with the Lord. We read them in John 1:50 and 51, “You will see greater things that this…The truth is, you will see heaven open and the angels of God going up and down upon the Son of Man!”
By positively responding to Jesus’ call to “come,” spiritual breakthroughs and growth will take place in our lives that will enable us to consistently walk with the Lord. But Jesus calls the twelve, just as He calls each of us, to “COME” in a very specific way – as a DISCIPLE and that is our second word picture for this morning.
In Henry Blackaby’s book Experiencing God he makes a point that is so true and yet makes us so uncomfortable. I was reminded of that when I received the January 17, 2005 e-mail devotional based on that book.
The call to relationship is also a call to be on mission with God. That call to mission disrupts your entire life. As you listen for God’s invitation, know its destiny is always: Point Unknown. Are you willing to go?
The point that the devotional emphasizes is that as we experience God and seek to do His will, it requires us to make adjustments in our lives and with our lives.
The point of the devotional would not have been lost on the twelve. Jesus’ call to “come and be His disciples” disrupted their entire lives! They would never be the same again! It was, in the language of the devotional, “ As you listen for God’s invitation, know its destiny is always: Point Unknown. Are you willing to go?”
To be a disciple is to be a follower of something or someone. In this case, Simon and Andrew and the other ten were called to become followers of Jesus and adjust their lives in such a manner that they would follow Jesus for the rest of their lives.
In his book A Generous Orthodoxy, Brian McLaren gives us a word picture of something that very clearly impacts the definition of Disciple that we would find very easy to understand. Brian is talking about how Jesus turns the idea of “lord” and “master” on its ear through a demonstration of servant hood.
“If we were to try to reinstate Jesus as Lord/Teacher…we would go to the world of arts and trades and notice how a master violinist, a master carpenter, a master electrician, a master of martial arts passes on her mastery to students or apprentices. The only way to learn this mastery is through the disciple’s voluntary submission to the discipline and tradition of the master.
McLaren goes on to say, “Tradition means a whole way of practice or way of life that includes systems of apprenticeship, a body of knowledge, a wide range of know-how skills and something…. that philosopher Michael Polanyi calls personal knowledge: levels of knowledge that one has and knows but doesn’t even know one has and knows.” Hey Pastor Jim, what are you saying?” “I’m lost!”
In our community we can understand the idea of apprentice because we have a tradition of trades and labor as part of our history and culture. Working with our hands is a very common practice in our town, right?
When we apply this picture of an apprentice to our thoughts this morning, it is another name for disciple. The master is Jesus and we are to learn not just the skills of Christianity but the way of Christianity. And that means that our lives change dramatically as we make the choice to become a disciple.
To paraphrase McLaren we must do the following:
Learn a whole new way of life through the apprenticeship of the Christian faith.
Learn a new body of knowledge through the Bible
Learn a wide-range of know-how skills through active participation in the life of the church.
Learn to navigate and pay attention to our souls through the life of the Holy Spirit as we invite Him to exist with in us.
This choice to become a disciple also has implications to it. Just as the twelve asked, “Am I going to go with Him or not?” when the word come is heard, there is another important question that is asked, “Do I trust Him?”
Trust is a very important item in a relationship such as a master and apprentice. I am reminded of that in the relationships between the Jedi Knights in the Star Wars series.
The twelve do not know Jesus very well at this point (and yet they do as evidenced by their responses to Him, notably Nathaniel) and so they have to decide if they trust Him enough to follow Him and learn the way of life that He will lead them into.
This decision is a spiritual breakthrough because as we choose to deeply trust Jesus with every area of our life and make the adjustments necessary as we do so, we are lead into a deep and wonderful (but not necessarily a care-free) relationship with Christ.
The final word picture is another one that we are familiar with in our community because some (perhaps many) of us do. FISH.
Jesus uses this word in His invitation to Simon and Andrew but does not use it in His invitations to Nathaniel or Matthew. Yet we have latched on to this word picture as an important description to what Jesus has called us to do as well.
The use of the word FISH refers to two important things: The act of fishing itself and the goal of fishing that Jesus links to humanity instead of fish. FISH is a word of the tangible actions that Jesus would show them.
And given the dynamic of the master/disciple relationship that we have briefly looked at this morning, questions are raised by the twelve that I think includes this question: “What and how do I do this?”
FISH is a mission and a goal. Jesus calls the twelve to “fish” with Him for the Kingdom of God and He shows them how by going among the people where they are and doing things like healing, miracles, and pointed teaching to help people come to God.
For those who fish, there is simplicity and a joy and a thrill about it. But when you stop to think about fishing, it is a dynamic process because there are many factors involved.
Climate, depth of water, time of day, type of fish, fishing gear used, fishing bait used – these are environmental and skill factors that are constantly changing and I cannot think of a better word picture for the purpose to which Christ calls us than fishing (searching) for people to bring them to the Lord.
And I cannot think of a better image to use in conjunction with a master/apprentice role than fishing. Think about it for a moment.
How do we learn to fish, but learning from someone who knows how to fish? They show us how to cast, how to pick the right bait, where to go and the best times to go. Fishing is a great analogy for being a disciple.
Fishing requires patience. I once remember going fishing with a church member at another church. We went to a private lake where another member had his home and we took out his rowboat and spent several hours on the lake from one end of the other to catch some fish. We did not catch any but I had a lesson in patience.
Fishing requires using the right equipment and learning from others. I remember another fishing trip, it happens to be the last time I went fishing, on Lake Michigan.
It was a charter boat experience and we had a great captain and good equipment and were guaranteed at least one fish each. We were not disappointed. I caught the biggest fish I have ever caught – a nearly 3 feet long King Salmon that weighed around 18 pounds. I caught it 162 feet of water and it took me 10 minutes to get it to the boat and I thought my arms were going to come off!
Different environment, different equipment and there was success because someone skilled in fishing Lake Michigan knew where to look. I had to make the choice to follow his directions.
When we partner with the Lord to help others come to Him, it is a spiritual breakthrough in our walk with the Lord because we are doing what He has called us, as His disciples, to do!
In a moment, Susan is going to come and close our worship with a solo. She is going to sing a song that I think the Disciples would say “Amen” to because as they responded to Jesus’ call to “Come and be my disciple,” they had an experience with God that they found “more than wonderful.”
Let me suggest the following resolutions for your personal walk with the Lord that can enable you to experience spiritual breakthroughs in 2005: (Overhead 3)
I resolve to daily choose to follow Jesus.
I resolve to adjust my life as needed to daily follow Jesus.
I resolve to join with my fellow believers in this church to accomplish the mission of bring people home to the Lord by living for the Lord out in my community.
Again be open to the movement of the Spirit in your life and respond, as you need to. Amen.
McLaren’s book A Generous Orthodoxy is published by Zondervan Publishing. Overheads for this sermon are available by asking for 012305svgs in an e-mail to pastorjim46755@yahoo.com
