The Call Of Discipleship Series

Discipleship

The Call of Discipleship

Sunday, May 02 , 2010 am

Reading: Mark 1:16-20 ESV

Introduction:

This past week, I got a call from Jean asking that we pray for her. She’s having some pain in her leg and foot and was worried that she might loose her leg.

I got another call this past week from Jean. She said she had been to the doctor and it’s not that serious, but she needs to take it easy for a while and get lots of rest.

I got another call this week from Wes inviting me to his concert.

My wife got a call this week from our daughter Bridget. She called to tell us that the restaurant where her husband worked burned to the ground and that he no longer had a job there, but that he got another job the same day!

Some calls are bad news, others are good news, and still others are great news.

I can even remember a few of the calls I’ve made. 23 years, 347 days ago I made a call to my mom and dad. I said, “It’s a boy!” Some of you may be making a call similar to that before the year’s over. I may be getting a call like that myself before the year’s over.

And we never want to miss a call. Everybody today has a cell phone, it seems. We never want to be too far away from the phone, just in case someone calls. And then we have voice-mail, just in case we do miss an important call.

But it’s my suspicion that most of the calls we think are so important, aren’t really all that important. And the one call that is the most important call of all, is most frequently ignored.

Of course, I’m not talking about telephone calls now. I’m talking about the call of Jesus to discipleship.

In the verse that was read earlier for us, we read about four men, Simon, Andrew, James and John who were fishermen. And I know we have a few people here who love to fish. But when Jesus called these four men, they dropped their nets and they followed Jesus. They left everything that they had known behind because they knew that catching people for the kingdom of God was a whole lot more exiting and rewarding than catching fish.

This morning, we want to look at the call of Jesus to discipleship.

Lesson:

I. It is imperative.

A. The four fisherman were given a command by Jesus, “Follow me.”

1. He didn’t offer them a suggestion, he issued a command.

2. They obeyed the command and followed.

3. When I say that the call to discipleship is imperative, what I mean is that it’s a command.

4. And when a command is given there are consequences for obeying the command and consequences for ignoring the command.

B. Levi was given the same command. Mark 2:13-14 ESV He went out again beside the sea, and all the crowd was coming to him, and he was teaching them. (14)And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, "Follow me." And he rose and followed him.

C. Jesus issued the same command to Philip. John 1:43-51 ESV The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, "Follow me." (44) Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. (45) Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." (46) Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see." (47) Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!" (48) Nathanael said to him, "How do you know me?" Jesus answered him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you." (49) Nathanael answered him, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!" (50) Jesus answered him, "Because I said to you, 'I saw you under the fig tree,' do you believe? You will see greater things than these." (51) And he said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."

1. Philip not only followed, he immediately began the task of fishing for people.

2. He got his friend Nathaniel and they both followed Jesus.

II. It requires leaving some things behind.

A. Simon and Andrew were casting a net into the water when Jesus called them.