Let’s look at Mark 1:16 as we continue in our series The Gospel for Busy People.
One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of Galilee, He saw Simon and his brother Andrew throwing a net onto the water to fish. Jesus called out to them, “Follow Me and I’ll show you how to fish for people.” And they left their nets at once and followed Him. A little further up the shore Jesus saw Zebedee’s sons James and John in a boat repairing their nets. He called them at once and they also followed Him, leaving their father Zebedee in the boat.
Practical Principles
- Jesus is putting His team together. Do you want to be on Jesus’ team? He was going to choose 12 men in total and they would be the most ordinary of men. They weren’t extraordinarily holy saints. Nor were they scholars. Nor were they sages. They were hopelessly human. They were remarkably unremarkable. But they were available to the Master’s call.
- If you want to be used by God, get busy doing something for the Lord. Just get busy with what is in front of you. Mend those nets. Tend those sheep. Plow those fields. Teach that Sunday school class. Go on that mission trip. Share one on one. Give that tithe. Just get out and do something. Do what you can where you can.
- If you want to be used by God, be faithful in what is before you now. Jesus says in Luke 16:10, “Unless you are faithful in small matters, you won’t be faithful in large ones.” If you cheat even a little, you won’t be honest with greater responsibility. So be faithful in those little things.
- We need to bring Jesus home. That’s what the disciples did. Don’t leave Jesus at church on Sunday morning. Take Jesus home with you. Take Jesus to work with you. Take Jesus wherever you go; invite Him to be a part of every aspect of your life.
- We need to work together if we want to bring our friends to Jesus. If we want to see people come to Jesus, we need to work with fellow believers because we need to join our efforts together and we will get a lot more done. We are much stronger together than we are alone.
- One prays. Another shares. But God does the work. When a person comes to Christ, it’s the end of a chain of events that connect together resulting in a conversion. Maybe there’s a seed sown in the heart during childhood. Maybe that seed is watered a little bit later. Maybe they encounter a Christian they don’t even know who says or does something that makes an impression on them. Then finally someone takes the time to share the gospel.
Relevant Reminders
- Even if you’ve messed up, God can turn your mess into a message. He can turn things around for you.
- Jesus was called the friend of sinners. By the way, that wasn’t a compliment. That was a criticism. But I think it is a compliment when a godly person can be someone that a nonbeliever is drawn to.
- A faith that cannot be tested is a faith that cannot be trusted.
- The church is filled with hypocrites, but there’s always room for one more. I say that in a kidding way, but seriously, we are all going fall short. We are all going to mess up.
Applicable Actions
Are you running from God like Matthew was? If you will call out to Him right now, He will forgive you. Just as surely as Jesus looked at Matthew and said, “Follow Me,” Jesus is saying the same to you right now. He wants relationship with you. He wants friendship with you. He wants to walk with you through life so you’ll never be alone again, but He won’t force His way in your life. Matthew had a choice. Jesus said, “Follow Me.” Matthew could have said, “No way. I’m not going anywhere. I have a pretty nice life here making a lot of money. I don’t want to follow You.” He could’ve done that, but when Jesus said, “Follow Me,” Matthew bolted from the table without a moment’s hesitation. I hope that you will follow Jesus if you’ve not done that yet.
