Jesus Calls Us to Change the World
As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called
Peter and Andrew his brother,
casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. And he said to them,
"Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."
Immediately they left their nets and followed him. Matthew
4:18-20
In 2001, Jens Oveson was fishing for salmon in central Norway's Gaula
River when he was swept away by a strong current. Kjell Wilhelmsen, 55,
spotted the man's struggle. Wilhelmsen had fished the river for 25 years
and knew where the current would carry Ovesen. Wilhelmsen ran across a bridge,
waiting for Ovesen as the current carried him downriver. Wilhelmsen later
told a newspaper, "He seemed paralyzed. Only his face and the tips of his
boots were above water. I decided to start casting." His homemade lure hooked
Ovesen's rubber waders on the first cast of about ten yards. But Oveson weighed
nearly 250 pounds. Wilhelmsen used every trick he knew to reel in the big
man without breaking his light line. He landed the half-conscious Dane and
hauled him onto the shore. Oveson survived the ordeal.1.
Jesus came across Simon and Adrew casting a net into the water by Galilee.
He called to them and said, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
I think he had a different notion than what Kjell Wilhelmsen did.
Jesus says, "follow me and make a difference"
We all want to make a difference in our world.
God created us to have significance and to be significant in the world.
God created no one to be a throw-away person.
One of the great tragedies in our world are all the people who live and
die without ever getting to make a difference.
I am talking about the millions who die of starvation and pestilence
and war far too young.
But of course who knows what "making a difference" means even in that
context. Sometimes young lives lived in the most difficult of circumstances
make a difference far beyond their youth or limitations.
A young girl in hiding named Anne Frank wrote a diary with enormous significance.
I saw a documentary on a group of young boys driven from the Sudan during
the war, fleeing for their lives. There were no parents, no leaders and
these boys organized themselves crossing deserts and crocodile infested
rivers to finally find refuge in Kenya. Along the way, many of the boys rose
to positions of leadership, even spiritual leadership in the rag-tag band
of refugees. They kept their comrades together, kept them moving and kept
them alive.
So who is to say what the conditions are for a life to be "significant"?2.
God calls us all to a life of significance.
He calls fishermen beside the Galilee, "come, I will make you fishers of
men".
He calls us all according to who we are and where we are in life.
I suppose of one the fears we have of becoming a follower of Jesus is that
He is going to turn us all into evangelists.
No, He called his twelve apostles to a very specific task--spreading the
word and being primary teachers of what He taught them.
He called them to be evangelists, church planters and leaders of the early
church.
He may call us to some of those tasks, but not necessarily.
He called fishermen in a way appropriate to who they are... to be fishers
of men.
If Jesus were to appear in an intensive care unit of a modern hospital,
I have no doubt He would say something like, "follow me and I will show you
how to heal the soul as well as the body"
He calls healers to heal.
Teachers to teach.
To builders He might say, "follow me, together we are building the kingdom
of God."
He might call some to surprising opportunities they never would have considered.
Maybe a healer becomes a teacher and vice versa.
God knows our latent gifts and uses them as well as our more obvious choices.
I think what Jesus is also saying to us is "follow me--change your world."
The call of God on a human life is not just for personal transformation.
Jesus does not call us, just to save our souls.
In fact I can't think of anywhere Jesus calls someone and only touches them
without showing them the wider world and their place in it.
The woman at the well is sent back into her town where she has a powerful
influence on the people who live there.
The man healed of a legion of demons wants to go with Jesus, but Jesus sends
him back to his community to be an influence among the people who had left
him for dead among the tombs.
You might worry about this as being a call to inflate egos. Don't
God's call shows us our rightful place in the world and when you find that
your life has significance and meaning because of hand of God upon it,
there is no room for ego, only for thanksgiving and praise.
Besides, our calling is to a lifelong process of learning and being refined.
Jesus says, "follow me" and the sense of the word is "come to a life of
being a follower of mine."
Notice something else too.
The first thing Jesus teaches is repentence.
That was John the Baptist's message: "repent for the kingdom of God is at
hand."
Jesus picks up the very same message. "repent for the kingdom of God is
at hand."
The doorway to being a follower of Jesus is in repentence, turning away
for all the false things we follow instead.
James and John the two sons of Zebedee followed their own ambitions we see
later on. Jesus called them to turn from their own ambitions to find their
meaning in Him.
Levi, or Matthew had to give us his very lucrative service as a revenu agent.
But for everything he left behind, God made up for many times over.
Zacchaeus had to give up the same lucrative job and his dishonest ways,
but Jesus repaid him with eternal life and place in the kingdom.
God calls you and me to let go of the things we cling to that we use to
make us feel important, significant or just even secure.
He says, come, follow me and together we will change the world.
I want to change my world, to whatever degree God allows me.
If God allows me to make a big difference, then that's what I want too.
If God wants me to just have an influence on one other person, then that's
what I want too.
God knows me better than I know myself and knows the things I do to try
to make my life significant.
But God knows what I was created for, and calls me accordingly.
God knows what you were created for and calls you.
Calls you to make a difference in your world, and no, noone is ever too
old or too young to make a difference.
If young black boys fleeing a persuing army can make a difference in their
world, so can you.
Here is a simple example we can all do.
You can pray for your neighborhood.
When Ruth McCowand and I were in the early years of beginning this church,
she and I would drive up Desmond drive, up to the upper levels of the new
homes going in up there. From there you get a great view down into the little
valley where we are now. From that vantage point we would pray over the valley
and the new homes being built and the older homes on their acreages as well.
We had no idea what God was wanting to do in detail. We figured a church
was a big part of it, but we prayed for the valley and everyone in it.
I think back to those days when we claimed this valley for God.
The plans that are starting to unfold give me goosebumps that God heard
those prayers and is going to transform this valley in ways we could never
have anticipated.
God said, "follow me, and change your world"
When you drive home, drive around the block and pray for all the homes and
the people indise them.
Tell God you are casting your fishing net in faith and ask God to let you
help transform that neighborhood.
Keep doing it.
Jesus didn't say to anyone, "try it once"
He says, "follow me and keep on following me".
Keep on asking God for your neighborhood.
I have no idea what will happen, but if you mean it and are prepared to
use what gifts you have, then just keep praying.
And isn't it incredible what those fishermen did.
The gospels all say, they left their nets and boats behind and followed.
And look what God did with them.
Ordinary people like us.
Friend, God is calling you. Maybe you have been a follower all your life,
or at least you try to be.
Is there anything you need to turn away from? That's what repentence means.
Anything you need to leave behind?
Let go of it and follow. Its the only way to find out what God wants to
do in your life.
Maybe you have turned from something in repentence and have been given a
new life.
Have you committed yourself to following what Jesus calls you to?
Not just doing your Sunday thing.
Have you ever said to Jesus, show me where you want me to follow and I am
up for it.
Have you tried being a follower and gotten discouraged or failed?
So did Peter. He had to be invited back after Jesus resurrection.
If you are willing, God is more willing than you are.
People, lets follow Jesus.
Let's change our world.
Preached
Dr. Harold McNabb
West Shore Presbyterian
Church
Victoria, British Columbia
Notes
1."Fisherman Hooks Drowning Dane to Save His Life," The Wenatchee
World (7-20-01);
2. To see the full documentary go here: http://www.lostboysfilm.com/
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