Thank you so much, Don. It is really fun to be here today and look out across this congregation and see people that I know. There are times when I don't know too many people in a congregation but today having lived in this community for about 20 years we've made friends. At the ball field when our kids were small or at school events depending on where your kids went to school it is really fun to be here.
It's amazing though how little you get around when you're confined to a pulpit and as a pastor your first responsibility is in your church. I think I've been in this facility for piano recitals and vesper services and concerts but I don't know that I've ever been here for an entire worship service much less to be able to speak, so this is really a privilege.
You know it's kind of fun too, I'm learning some things about our conference that I didn't know. Maybe some things that you know. You know this conference is spread out over parts of three states. All of Georgia, eastern half of Tennessee and one county in North Carolina, Cherokee county. We're going to take over that whole state if you're not careful. We have churches in small, little places where 15 people might come together for worship, and churches in metropolises Atlanta being the largest. but Knoxville and Chattanooga are both large cities that we're responsible for as well. There's such a variety in our conference, 31, excuse me, almost 32 thousand members and yet there is an awful lot that holds us together.
There is a common bond, and that is Jesus Christ. We are committed to one heavenly Father, that makes us brothers and sisters, so it's my privilege to kind of connect our local congregations with each other, but really in a sense with our world church, because we look beyond ourselves as we work together for the accomplishment of God's purposes, well beyond our own.
I sometimes wonder it we haven’t taken a similar approach to God’s call. We want to know what he has in mind and then we’ll kind of process it a little bit. What is he saying? Is it something that I’m comfortable with? Am I good with that? Or should we kind of put it off a little bit? Wait awhile. Maybe discuss it with him later. How do we respond to God’s call? Bob read in our scripture passage one of those famous calls where Jesus beside the sea spoke to those who would become his disciples. But I want, while we’ll look at Luke five a little bit later, let’s begin with Matthew four. Another passage that brings us to what many would assume would be the same experience but from Matthew’s perspective. Matthew Chapter four, beginning in verse 18. I’ll be reading from the New International Version today. “As Jesus was walking beside the sea of Galilee he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake for they were fishermen. Come follow me Jesus said and I’ll make you fishers of men. At once they left their nets and followed him.” Here in just three verses we find encapsulated the larger story, portions of which we read in Luke five. We don’t have all the details, all the pieces, but at least the core of it is quite similar isn’t it?
Jesus is walking along the shore of the lake, sees a couple of guys who are fishermen and walks up to them and says, “You like the job? If you like fishing, follow me, I’ll make you however, not just catching fish, I’ll make you fishers of men. There are eternal consequences in what I’m inviting you to do. Join me. Follow me. Become my disciple, my follower. Become my disciple, watch what I do, I want to teach you to do what I do, so that you can become a fisher of men.” Right here in these few verses we’re reminded that if we’re not disciple makers, there is cause to question whether we’re a disciple. Now that’s a tough one, isn’t it? Unless we’re calling others to the experience that we have found, are we really being true to our calling? Because Jesus’ fundamental call, His first call is, “follow me, I will make you a fisher of men.” Now if we’re really serious about watching the world around us, and being aware of the prophetic hour, we would know that time is short. Our task is huge. It’s time we took it seriously. We would be serious about being fishers of men. And women. And boys and girls. And teens and young adults. We would be looking always for people in our network of friends that don’t know him yet, and who because of our friendship with them we could somehow influence for the kingdom of God. Oh Yeah, the good news is that we’re not the only influence in their life. There might be someone else who is a neighbor or who is a co-worker or lives down the street or a relative who is also exerting a Godly influence and somehow together the combined influence of all of us will affect people around us. Because Jesus said, “Follow me, and I’ll make you fishers of men.”
Now that we might consider to be the first call. That’s fundamental, that’s basic isn’t it? But then I’d invite you to turn back to Luke chapter five, our scripture passage and look at this a little more carefully. Now because of the setting and because of the similarity of these two stories and because they come somewhat near the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, I had always pretty much assumed that these were two descriptions of the same event, one of course being more complete, more full, as happens often with multiple eye-witnesses seeing something. One of them absorbs different details. We find that a lot in the stories in the Gospels, don’t we. In fact, rather than noticing the differences and saying that’s cause to question the veracity of scripture, we say no, those differences actually support the truthfulness of scripture, because that’s the way it is with human beings who do their best to absorb lots of stimulus around us. See, hear, touch, smell and record it later, sometimes years later. If it was always identical we would say somebody copied. The fact that it isn’t is usually a support of the fact that these are different people seeing the same events. However, even though there are similarities, even though the content and the purpose is quite the same, Ellen White suggests that this is a different experience. That this is a 2nd call. Same people, second call. You scratch your head and say what do you mean? Let me read it to you. Desire of Ages, Page 246. “Until this time (Luke five), none of the disciples had fully united as co-laborers with Jesus. They had witnessed many of His miracles and had listened to His teaching, but they had not entirely forsaken their former employment.” She goes on to describe how, following that first call in Matthew four, they were excited, they were intrigued, they wondered what on earth was going on and so they followed him and they watched the healings. They watched His interaction with people. They listened to His teaching. They also sensed the growing resistance of the religious establishment. They began to have a few questions, a few doubts, all of which really sprung up following John’s death.
When John was beheaded, they took a big step backward and said, I don’t know about this. We were so sure about John. Look what happened to Him. We think we’re sure about Jesus, but are we really prepared to go this route. There are a lot of uncertainties, a lot of questions that are unanswered. And so Ellen White describes them retreating to their previous profession. They still had all the equipment. They still had all the contacts. They went back to fishing. At least for the time being they had given up on Jesus’ call to “come follow me and I’ll make you fishers of men”. Is that disturbing to you? Or is that encouraging to you? That these men who were able to interact with Jesus face to face would still struggle with His call. Would even take a step back. Re-evaluate life, maybe even regress a bit. But the good news is Jesus is willing to call again. Jesus comes seeking them out a second time now and with a little bit of understanding, let’s read. Beginning in verse one of Luke, chapter five. “One day as Jesus was standing by the lake of Genneseret with people crowding around Him and listening to the word of God, he saw at the waters edge two boats left there by the fishermen who were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon and asked him to put out a little from shore. And he set down and taught the people from the boat.” We didn’t hear that in Matthew four did we? That’s new. That’s something different. “When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, ‘Put out into deep water and let down the nets for a catch’. Simon answered, ‘Master, we worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything, but because you say so, I’ll let down the nets’.” Right there, because you say so, because it’s You who’s asking me to do this, I’m willing to consider it. That tells you that there’s been a previous relationship. There is a degree of trust. But how much? Oh… Come on Jesus. You’re not a fisherman, I’m a fisherman. I know that you don’t fish in the day-time. I know all the stuff that you don’t about fish, but because it’s You, if it will make You happy, I will. “When he had done so,” verse six, “they caught such a large number of fish their nets began to break.” You can see their jaws dropping. What happened here? What’s going on? “So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come help them. They came and filled both boats so full they began to sink.” What is Peter’s reaction this time? He fell at Jesus’ knees and said “go away from me Lord. I am a sinful man.” Is that the kind of response you would expect? Well, maybe it is. When all of a sudden, all of your questions are answered at once. When you realize who it is that might be standing in front of you. Your reaction is not so much joy, “yes, I’ll follow you” as it is fear. “Oh man, I’ve messed up.” In fact, everything that you know about me is pointing in the wrong direction. I have no business being in your presence, much less being your disciple, and all of a sudden, he’s saying “I don’t deserve this”, and that’s not a bad thing.
That self distrust that says “I don’t know what you see in me, but I don’t see it.” James and John, Zebedee’s sons, also saw what was going on. “And then Jesus said to Simon, ‘Don’t be afraid. From now on you will catch men.’”. Back to that theme. From now on you will catch men. “And so they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything, and followed Him.” And that too is a bit curious isn’t it. Well, wait a minute, what about all the fish? This was the answer to your prayers. This is what you had gone back to fishing for. And now the moment of your supreme catch, your biggest accomplishment to date, you’re willing to walk away and leave everything to follow Him? That is a huge step, isn’t it? And Ellen White concludes that chapter with the remark that you may have heard, in fact memorized earlier in your life. A remark that gives me comfort and courage today. It is this. “There is no limit to the usefulness of one who by putting self aside makes room for the working of the Holy Spirit upon his heart, and lives a life wholly consecrated to God.” No limit. Only Jesus knows what He’s really asking you to do. And there’s no limit to your potential if you set yourself aside and listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit and follow Him. That however, is easier said than done, isn’t it? It’s just hard.
I brought along a little something. This is what I take with me if I’m traveling someplace. A long ways. Out of the country. Do you enjoy traveling out of the country? Is that fun? I do. What do I have in here. Well, first of all, if you’re going out of the country, you better take your passport. Sometimes that’s really what we’re going for is just to get our passport stamped. I know it’s hard to do these days, but it’s kind of cool to see it fill up. It’s kind of like our souvenir book. Ah, what else do we have in here? I’ve got aspirin, you never know what’s going to get you over there. You have to have a camera, right, to record your experiences and bring them back. Actually this is bragging rights. This is the reason why some of us go. Just to bring back the photos. But in here, what else do we have? Oh yeah, I’ve got a few snacks. Nuts, granola bar, have to take your water. Can’t always drink the water. What else do we have. Oh Yeah. Have to have one of these little inflatable pillows, because if you’re really serious about traveling, you’re going to spend some of your time sitting up trying to sleep, you need one of these things. Some people even like the little gizmo that goes over your eyes to give you some darkness in the middle of the night, which is actually day. Ah yes. Our last trip last June to see our son down in Argentina, you have to have a guide book, right? I always like to take one. I usually don’t get too much chance to read it until I’m on the plane on the way down, but it’s kind of nice to know what to expect a little bit, you know, whether or not you brought what you needed. After all, that’s part of the fun of travel, is to experience all of this new stuff, right? To see things that you haven’t seen before, to experience new food, new smells, new customs, new languages, new cultures, new currency. That in itself is kind of fun. Oooh, look how pretty this money is, different colors and what does this mean. You try and communicate, you take your little phrase book or one of these little electronic things that help you translate more quickly, trying to figure out what’s going on. It’s fun. I also enjoy just the new flora and fauna. New plants, trees. I’m into birds, so I bought a book. The birds of Argentina and Uruguay. You have to be prepared for this kind of stuff. You never know what you’re going to find, because as you travel, your going to be exposed to new experiences, and that’s a cool thing. That’s why many of us travel. It’s fun.
But having said that, there’s quite a range in how we go about this. Have you noticed? The minimalist traveler approach where you reduce everything you can into the smallest possible container. Think college student back-pack. They can get around for months with very little. Why? Because they’re willing to go the minimalist route. Plan ahead? Come on. Figure it out as you go. On the other extreme are those of us that prefer a much more cautions, organized approach. You know, minimizing the risks. The tourist idea, with five suitcases and a whole folder full of advance reservations. You’re leaving nothing to chance. You might even opt for a guided tour. You know, the kind of thing where you just meet them at the airport and they take care of everything from there. All the transfers, the buses, the taxis, everything is taken care of. The height of that approach might be the cruise where you just go and unpack one time and then every time you wake up you’re in a new port of call and you can sample the cultures for a few hours, dip your toe in the water, so to speak, but then you’re safely back aboard to eat safe food and go to bed in a safe bed at night. That is the other extreme. Minimalist traveler versus tourist. Where do you find yourself? And why is that important?
Well, not long ago, an individual by the name of, well, let me see if I can find it. Here we go. Nope, looking in the wrong place. Here it is. Daniel Boorstien, in a book that he wrote called Image, A Guide to Pseudo-events in America, which was really kind of a critique of contemporary life. In his third chapter, he titled it From Traveler to Tourist, The Lost Art Of Travel. His point being, we have forgotten that the real root of the word travel is travail. Does that ring any bells with you? Travail. Meaning trouble. Discomfort. Uncertainty. Risk. That’s what travel was about back then. And he claims that by avoiding it so studiously we’re missing out on half of the experience. He actually quotes Conrad Hilton at the opening of the hotel in Istanbul, “Each of our hotels is a little America.” Well, if that’s what you want, stay in America! You see, this resistance to fully immersing ourselves in another culture primarily because we have no intention of staying there; we’re just there for 10 days. And the tourist in us wants to take pictures and buy the souvenirs and go home where we started. Where we’re comfortable. Whereas, the traveler, or might I say, the pilgrim, is there, fully there. But not even there to stay. The pilgrim is on his way somewhere else to stay. The pilgrim never goes home again. Would you agree? And this is where I’m challenging you to think about God’s call. Is it possible that we’ve approached God’s call with a similar perspective? There’s the tourist side of us that wants the 10-day guided tour of a minimalist spiritual experience. Let me take the pictures, sample it, talk about it freely with my friends, that’s good. In fact, I’ll even check in once a week with the club. But I’m really not expecting to go anywhere or be changed in the process. God’s call however, is not for that approach. He’s not asking you to become a spiritual tourist. To sample what he has in mind. He says I want you to follow me in a way that will change your life. You’re never going home again. You’re going to be changed by the experience, you’re going to help change others in the experience, and together we will all end up at a new destination. That is Jesus’ call. So, what’s it like for you? Is Jesus calling you? And, calling you to what? Remember there may be multiple calls. You responded to his call a while back to what. Make Him an important part of your life. The decision that Elizabeth made is an important part of that process, isn’t it? Is that the last time she’s going to hear God’s voice in her life? I pray not. She will continue to respond as God calls her to take the next step of discipleship. And that next step may have to do with her money. Recognizing God by returning a faithful tithe. It may have to do with her time. It may have to do with her career. What is God calling you to? What is the next step to which He’s inviting you? Does it have to do with a change in the way your company does business? To follow an ethical approach that, you know, you cut a few corners and it’s worked for you up until now, and everybody else does it, but there’s something deep inside you that just doesn’t feel right, and God is calling you to take the next step. I don’t know what He is talking to you about. But the question is the same. How are you going to handle the call. Will you choose to screen your calls and put it off and do something else or are you going to say, “Lord, I, really don’t know where this is taking me. I’m a little uncomfortable. The risk factor is huge. I wish You weren’t talking to me about this, but because it’s You, I’m willing to do what You ask.” And that’s the whole thing, isn’t it. We learn to trust him in the future, because we’ve seen him at work in the past, and we have nothing to fear for the future except we forget His leading in our past history. He’s calling. What then?
Hymn of Praise: #27, Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart! Scripture: Luke 5:4-11 Hymn of Response: #285, Jesus Calls Us
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Sermon at McDonald Road transcribed by Steve Foster 2/4/07