We ve cmpleted ur study f the temptatins f Christ, which qualified Jesus t be ur New Adam Jesus demnstrated He is truly the sinless Man Wh will restre what Adam frfeited And as fascinating as this sectin f the Gspel maybe, I resisted the temptatin t spend mre time in this area Instead, we mve n in chapter 4 t the next phase f Jesus earthly ministry Jesus is nw ready t begin cllecting disciples wh will learn frm Him and fllw Him But Matthew s accunts f hw Jesus gained His disciples can be a bit cnfusing Jesus recruitment effrt didn t happen in a single mment it happened ver a perid f days and weeks And the fur Gspel writers each recrd different mments in that prcess We re studying Matthew, f curse, s that s where we will fcus ur attentin But t make sure yu fllw Matthew s narrative, I ll summarize details frm the ther Gspels t be sure we get the full picture But befre we get int that tpic, Matthew first cvers sme f Jesus early mments in the Galilee Matt. 4:12 Nw when Jesus heard that Jhn had been taken int custdy, He withdrew int Galilee; Matt. 4:13 and leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regin f Zebulun and Naphtali. Matt. 4:14 This was t fulfill what was spken thrugh Isaiah the prphet: Matt. 4:15 The land f Zebulun and the land f Naphtali, By the way f the sea, beynd the Jrdan, Galilee f the Gentiles 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
2! f! 18 Matt. 4:16 The peple wh were sitting in darkness saw a great light, And thse wh were sitting in the land and shadw f death, Upn them a light dawned. Matt. 4:17 Frm that time Jesus began t preach and say, Repent, fr the kingdm f heaven is at hand. At the end f the temptatins, Matthew had Jesus standing atp a muntain near Jerich in the wilderness f Judea But in reality, Satan s final temptatin f Jesus was the temptatin t fall frm the pinnacle f the temple Yu ll remember I said that Matthew re-rdered the temptatins t place the kingdm temptatin at the end Matthew s pint was t emphasize that Jesus is the Prmised King Wh came t gain a kingdm But Jesus wuld nly gain it in the way the Father required, nt in an illegitimate fashin S, fllwing that final temptatin, Matthew says Jesus hears that Jhn the Baptist has been imprisned by Herd Antipas Herd Antipas inherited rule ver Galilee after his father, Herd the Great, died in 4 BC Herd Antipas married the wife f his brther, Philip, cmmitting adultery in the prcess Jhn the Baptist spke ut against Herd Antipas adultery and as a result, Jhn was arrested and later beheaded Upn learning Jhn was arrested, Jesus withdrew t the Galilee The Galilee is the name fr the regin in Israel immediately surrunding the Sea f Galilee in the nrth The Sea f Galilee is a fresh water lake, nt a salt sea, and it s the main surce f fresh water fr all Israel It s shaped like a harp, s it s als called Lake Gennesaret, frm the Hebrew wrd fr harp Mre imprtantly, the Galilee was the place a persn went t disappear 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
3! f! 18 Jerusalem was Israel s cultural, religius, and plitical center While the Galilee was the backwater, unsphisticated, blue cllar farming regin f Israel Yu ll remember there was a saying In Israel that nthing gd came frm Nazareth Unsurprisingly, Nazareth is lcated in the heart f the Galilee S Jesus has chsen t retreat int the Galilee t put sme distance between Himself and thse wh might ppse Him Jhn s arrest was an indicatin t Jesus that Satan was turning up the heat Remember, Jesus had just frustrated the enemy s attempts t tempt Jesus int sin But dn t think the enemy was dne trying t stp Gd s plan at that pint On the cntrary, Satan simply shifted his fcus elsewhere, t stirring up ppsitin t Jesus and His message, beginning with attacking Jhn Satan brught evil men against the prphet t silence his message that the Messiah had arrived At the same time, enemy wrked equally hard t stir up thse same evil men t ppse Jesus ministry Jhn s Gspel tells us the Pharisees were cncerned when they heard Jesus was attracting even mre fllwers than Jhn S fr the next three years, Jesus will spend mst f His time ministering in the regin f the Galilee ut f the way f thse wh ppse Him Eventually, Jesus must die, f curse S when the time is right the Lrd will harness Satan s ppsitin t deliver His Sn t the crss But as we learned last week frm Psalm 91, nthing bad culd happen t the Messiah until that appinted time S fr nw, Jesus will stay ur f harm s way in the Galilee 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
4! f! 18 S in v.12 Matthew briefly mentins Jesus departure fr Galilee, but as he des, he skips a significant interval f time and a series f imprtant events Based n the ther Gspels, we knw that after the temptatins ended, Jesus went back t Nazareth Immediately, Jesus began t meet His first disciples, including Peter, Andrew and Nathaniel frm that area f the Galilee Sn after that Jesus, his mther and these first disciples attended a wedding tgether in the nearby twn f Cana At this wedding, Jesus He perfrmed His first miracle f turning water int wine After the wedding, Jesus traveled t Capernaum with his mther and brthers and disciples After a few days, Jesus departs fr Jerusalem t attend the first f fur Passvers during His three year ministry (Jesus final Passver puts Jesus n the crss) During this visit t the temple, Jesus chases mney changers ut f the temple fr the first time (He des it n His furth visit als) Je als begins t perfrm public miracles and teach pening As a result f Jesus appearances in Jerusalem, Nicdemus cmes t ask his questins f Jesus recrded in Jhn 3 Arund that time, Jhn the Baptist is arrested, s fllwing the Passver Jesus returns t the Galilee t escape His enemies On the way t the Galilee, Jesus encunters the Samaritan wman at the well in Jhn 4 Jesus eventually returns t His hme in Nazareth, where He began t preach and travel arund the Galilee That s where we pick up in Matthew 4:13 with Jesus leaving Nazareth fr Capernaum nce again But this time, Jesus is mving permanently t settle in Capernaum Capernaum is t becmes Jesus headquarters fr ministry in the Galilee S why did Jesus make this mve? 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
5! f! 18 In a wrd, because f unbelief We learn frm Luke and Jhn that after He returned t Nazareth fllwing the Passver, Jesus fame quickly spread He was perfrming miracles and declaring the kingdm was at hand On ne ccasin Jesus preached at a synaggue in Nazareth declaring pening that He was the prmised Messiah Accrding t Luke, the twn f Nazareth rejected Jesus claims, largely because they thught f Him as just a lcal by They were s angered by Jesus claims, they tried t thrw Jesus ff a nearby cliff Irnically, Satan had just tried t get Jesus t thrw Himself ff a high pint t prve He was the Sn f Gd And nw in Nazareth, peple were trying t thrw Jesus ff a cliff because He was the Sn f Gd Meanwhile, as Nazareth was rejecting the Messiah, Capernaum was embracing Jesus Capernaum is a small fishing village lcated n the nrthern pint f the Sea f Galilee And the Gspels reprt that in cntrast t Nazareth, Capernaum readily embraced Jesus message and miracles S Jesus mves with His family frm Nazareth t Capernaum But Jesus didn t make the mve because Capernaum was mre receptive Matthew says Jesus decisin t settle in Capernaum was intended t fulfill Isaiah 9:1-2 Capernaum lies n the Via Maris, which means the Way f the Sea The Via Maris was an imprtant Rman trading rute running frm Egypt t Babyln Thusands f traders passed thrugh Caernaum n this rute 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
6! f! 18 Which made Capernaum a strategic lcatin frm which t share the message f the Gspel Frm that ne place, news f what Jesus was saying and ding culd easily spread t many places in the wrld Isaiah said that wuld be Gd s plan Is. 9:1 But there will be n mre glm fr her wh was in anguish; in earlier times He treated the land f Zebulun and the land f Naphtali with cntempt, but later n He shall make it glrius, by the way f the sea, n the ther side f Jrdan, Galilee f the Gentiles. Is. 9:2 The peple wh walk in darkness Will see a great light; Thse wh live in a dark land, The light will shine n them. Isaiah says that the tribal territries f Zebulun and Naphtali wuld be especially blessed when the Lrd brught light int darkness Nazareth lies in the regin f Zebulun while Capernaum lies in the regin f Naphtali The majrity f Jesus ministry tk place in these regins alng the nrthern end f the Galilee Ntice als that Isaiah says the Messiah s light wuld cme by the way f the sea, the name f that Rman rad running thrugh Capernaum S the prphet explicitly named the lcatin that the Messiah wuld perfrm miracles and bring light t darkness And mre than Israel, Isaiah says the Messiah will als be sent t the Galilee f the Gentiles As Gentile traders passed thrugh the Galilee n the Via Maris, sme encuntered Jesus and His teachings, leading t early cnverts amng the natins Clearly, the Messiah isn t trying t hide in this place Jesus is wrking in a very public fashin t annunce His arrival In v.17, Matthew summarizes the message that Jesus was delivering t Israel in thse early days f His ministry 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
7! f! 18 Much like Jhn the Baptist, Jesus was saying repent, fr the kingdm f heaven is at hand Mark adds that Jesus said the time is fulfilled and believe in the Gspel S the full message Jesus preached was Repent and believe in the Gspel, fr the time is fulfilled and the kingdm f Gd is at hand. We knw what Jesus meant by repent, because it s the same message Jhn the Baptist was preaching, which we studied back in chapter 3 And believing in the Gspel sunds easy enugh t understand t But what exactly was the Gspel at this pint? Tday we define the Gspel as Paul taught it The Gspel is the testimny that Jesus died n a crss fr ur sins, was buried and raised again after three days (1Cr 15, Rm 10) If yu believe that testimny, if yu trust in Jesus death t recncile yu t Gd and bring yu int Heaven, then yu shall be saved If yu dn t accept that message, yu will pay the price fr yur sins, which is eternal separatin frm Gd in the Lake f Fire But in Jesus day, Jesus hadn t died yet, s what was the Gspel message Jesus preached while He was alive? The Gspel Jesus preached is captured in the secnd half f Matthew s statement in v.17 Jesus preached that the time is fulfilled, meaning that the prmises f the Old Testament prphets were being fulfilled in their midst And specifically, the time had cme fr the prmised Kingdm f the Messiah, fr the King Wh wuld rule His peple peace The time fr Gd t fulfill all thse prmises had nw arrived, and s the Kingdm f Gd was ready t appear, Jesus said Jesus supprted His claims by teaching frm OT Scripture hw He was fulfilling prphecy 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
8! f! 18 And then Jesus perfrmed supernatural miracles by the pwer f the Hly Spirit t validate His claims S that by His teaching and His miracles, Jesus quickly attracted large crwds, and accrding t Jhn, many believed in Jesus as Messiah S if smene believed in Jesus Gspel, the were accepting Jesus as their Prmised Messiah, which resulted in persnal salvatin Mrever, that persn was als believing in Jesus prmise t set up the Messianic Kingdm in that day The Old Testament prphets taught extensively that the Messiah when He came wuld rule ver a physical kingdm n earth The Messiah wuld sit n His thrne in Jerusalem presiding ver many natins ruling in peace and justice That s what Jesus meant when He said the Kingdm f Gd was at hand S during the days Jesus walked the wrld we culd summarize the Gspel message this way The message declared that salvatin began with repenting frm dead wrks f the law and f disbedience t Gd In place f these things, a persn placed their trust in Jesus claims t be the prmised Messiah in fulfillment f Scripture And they submitted t His authrity as their King ruling ver the prmised Kingdm f Gd Jesus ffering t set up that Kingdm had a cnditin it wuld cme t pass fr Israel nly if they first beyed the first half f Jesus Gspel They had t repent and believe in Jesus as their King befre they culd receive the Gspel If the natin f Israel embraced Jesus as their Messiah in faith, then Jesus wuld give them the prmised Kingdm Literally, the 1,000-year Kingdm we re still waiting fr wuld culd have arrived during Jesus first cming had Israel believed Obviusly, that Kingdm didn t cme, because Israel didn t receive Him 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
9! f! 18 Instead f setting up a kingdm, Jesus went t the crss Yet at this pint Jesus message made n reference t Him dying n the crss fr ur sins Later when Jesus did begin t share with His disciples abut His cming death, it greatly cnfused them They wndered hw culd Jesus be the Prmised Messiah cming t rule all natins if He culd be killed by Rme? And hw culd the King die befre His Kingdm was in place? The answer fr when and why Jesus message changed frm Kingdm t crss must await ur study f Matthew 12 S fr nw, Matthew mves t Jesus recruiting His disciples Matt. 4:18 Nw as Jesus was walking by the Sea f Galilee, He saw tw brthers, Simn wh was called Peter, and Andrew his brther, casting a net int the sea; fr they were fishermen. Matt. 4:19 And He said t them, Fllw Me, and I will make yu fishers f men. Matt. 4:20 Immediately they left their nets and fllwed Him. Matt. 4:21 Ging n frm there He saw tw ther brthers, James the sn f Zebedee, and Jhn his brther, in the bat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He called them. Matt. 4:22 Immediately they left the bat and their father, and fllwed Him. This is all Matthew gives us abut hw Jesus selected His disciples Later in chapter 10, Matthew recrds Jesus assigning twelve f His disciples t a special rle called apstle But fr nw Matthew simply says Jesus fund men alng the way in the Galilee In v.18 Jesus calls tw brthers frm their fishing business n the Galilee, Simn and Andrew And l and behld, they just leave their nets and fllw Jesus Nw when yu read that, desn t it sund strange t yu? It desn t read like real life Desn t it sund as if they were hypntized? 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
10! f! 18 Wh drps everything in the middle f everyday life t begin a new life fllwing smene arund? My wife wuld say that s hw I ended up with her, but fr the rest f us, it desn t sund like real life And nr shuld it, because that s nt hw this happened Once again, Matthew is leaving ut sme imprtant details we find in the ther Gspels Beginning with the imprtant pint that this isn t the first time Peter and Andrew met Jesus In Jhn s Gspel, we get the accunt f their first meeting Andrew was a disciple f Jhn the Baptist, fllwing Jhn s ministry by the river Jrdan alng with Jhn wh wrte the Gspel f Jhn After Jhn baptized Jesus, he tld Andrew and Jhn t fllw stp fllwing him and t start fllwing Jesus S Andrew and Jhn left Jhn the Baptist and started t fllw Jesus Sn after Andrew intrduces Jesus t his brther, Simn Jesus immediately changed Simn s name t Peter, which means Rck (tday we wuld say Rcky) Later Jesus called Philip, wh lived near Andrew and Peter in the Galilee, and then later Philip intrduced Jesus t Nathaniel S ne at a time, Jesus cllected disciples arund the Galilee But it s imprtant t remember that Jesus cllected these men befre Jesus had perfrmed even a single miracle Jhn says these encunters happened shrtly after Jesus was baptized, prir t the wedding in Cana S these men were believing in Jesus as the Messiah, the Christ, and fllwing Him based slely n Jesus testimny They were clearly perating in faith Later, these disciples jined Jesus as guest at the wedding in Cana, prbably because they had been invited t 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
11! f 18! While at the wedding, Jhn, Andrew and Peter witness Jesus first miracle f turning water int wine As they see this miracle, Jhn reprts their faith was cnfirmed and strengthened Jhn 2:11 This beginning f His signs Jesus did in Cana f Galilee, and manifested His glry, and His disciples believed in Him. After this, Jesus ges t Jerusalem fr the Passver, and these same disciples jin Him in Jerusalem They fllwed Jesus prbably because as Jewish men they were als required t attend the feast S they traveled with Jesus t Jerusalem and n His return t the Galilee They are als with Jesus when He has His encunter with the wman at the well in Samaria During all this time, Jhn reprts they called Jesus rabbi, r teacher But they als called Him Christ, r Messiah S they understd Jesus was the Messiah, but fr them the Messiah was principally a rabbi r teacher In ther wrds, it s unclear at first what these guys understd f the cncept f Messiah much less what it wuld require f them persnally They were prbably perating frm what they knew f Israel s past Fr example, when Mses came t Israel, the peple accepted him as their leader and prphet and mediatr f the Law They revered him and respected him Likewise, when Jshua was raised up r when David and Slmn ruled, the peple recgnized these leaders as sent by Gd But in all these cases, the peple f Israel still maintained their nrmal way f life Just because Mses shwed up, the peple didn t cease in their trades 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
12! f! 18 Jshua s cnquest f Canaan didn t change their family allegiances David s rise t the thrne didn t require that peple leave their hmes and fllw David arund Peple didn t abandn their way f life when Gd sent a prphet r king they simply accepted and served these men as they went abut their daily lives Therefre, when these disciples met Jesus, they were certainly excited t receive Him and t knw His Kingdm was at hand They believed in Him, they listened t His teaching They accmpanied Him frm time t time and they shared the news f His arrival with thers But in the meantime, they still needed t make a living They had bills t pay and had t put fd n the table S after the disciples returned with Jesus t the Galilee after the Passver, they simply returned t their fishing nets and bats Meanwhile, Jesus cntinued traveling arund the Galilee teaching in synaggues and drawing large crwds Then n this day, Jesus makes His way back t these men n the shres f the Galilee Accrding t Luke, Jesus teaches the crwds n the shre fr a while with Jesus disciples listening n And then as we read in Matthew 4, Jesus suddenly turns t Andrew and Peter and James and Jhn and says fllw me But this pint, these men have already spent cnsiderable time with Jesus They believe in Him as the Messiah They have seen the miracles that cnfirmed Jesus s claims Mrever, they ve had time t cnsider what Jesus has been teaching and what it means fr them persnally S perhaps they were ready fr this change 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
13! f! 18 Perhaps after being with Jesus, fishing just didn t seem as rewarding as it nce did Perhaps they were already cnsidering whether t ask Jesus if they culd becme His full-time students S Jesus asks these men t embark n a career change t becme students f a rabbi T fllw a rabbi meant t enrll in the rabbi s persnal academy, which meant pursuing a calling t be a rabbi yurself Students f rabbis cmmitted themselves t fllw and bey the rabbi s teaching, after which the students wuld becme rabbis That s what Jesus is asking, and that s what these men agree t d in an instant, leaving behind their livelihd and identity But despite all that, desn t their decisin t leave suddenly seem hard t believe? Well perhaps it wuld help yu t knw abut ne mre detail Matthew left ut In Luke we learn that right befre Jesus issued this call, He put n a little demnstratin f His fishing ability Luke 5:4 When He had finished speaking, He said t Simn, Put ut int the deep water and let dwn yur nets fr a catch. Luke 5:5 Simn answered and said, Master, we wrked hard all night and caught nthing, but I will d as Yu say and let dwn the nets. Luke 5:6 When they had dne this, they enclsed a great quantity f fish, and their nets began t break; Luke 5:7 s they signaled t their partners in the ther bat fr them t cme and help them. And they came and filled bth f the bats, s that they began t sink. Luke 5:8 But when Simn Peter saw that, he fell dwn at Jesus feet, saying, G away frm me Lrd, fr I am a sinful man! Luke 5:9 Fr amazement had seized him and all his cmpanins because f the catch f fish which they had taken; Luke 5:10 and s als were James and Jhn, sns f Zebedee, wh were partners with Simn. And Jesus said t Simn, D nt fear, frm nw n yu will be catching men. Luke 5:11 When they had brught their bats t land, they left everything and fllwed Him. 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
14! f! 18 Nw d yu understand why these men were willing t drp everything t fllw Jesus? They knew Jesus was the Messiah, they had seen His miracles and heard the pwer f His teaching But nw they witness a firsthand demnstratin f His authrity t rule ver all things, including the Creatin They ve witnessed His divinity in a pwerful new way And nly then des Jesus calls them t make a new way f life serving Him as fishers f men Jesus is calling them t flip their way f life upside dwn These men fished the sea seeking earthly prvisin They brught death t living thing s they culd enrich themselves Nw Jesus wants them t fish the land seeking heavenly prvisin They wuld sacrifice themselves t bring eternal life t dead hearts And in the face f Jesus display f divine pwer, they felt cmpelled t make the change Frm my wn persnal experience in fllwing and serving Christ, I can tell yu can identify with this pattern and I suspect it s the same fr mst peple At sme pint we encunter Jesus smene says cme and see, and we meet ur Messiah We believe in His wrd even befre we see evidence f His pwer and the depths f his wisdm And then as we accmpany Him in ur daily life, we see ur faith cnfirmed and strengthened by what we experience and what we learn Then, n Mnday mrning we g back t ur nets, s t speak, and fr mst f us this is where the path becme a circle We repeat this pattern regularly, and it s enugh 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
15! f! 18 But fr sme f us, there s a grwing sensatin that fllwing Jesus in this way isn t enugh It s like the disciples sitting n that bat watching Jesus teaching crwds n the shre it desn t feel like we re clse enugh Our daily pursuits are n lnger enugh fr us, and mre imprtantly, they re n lnger enugh fr Jesus S we start t wnder if there s smething mre t ur faith than Sunday mrnings (Thursday nights) And then at the right mment, the Lrd brings us an example f His divine pwer, perhaps in a wrd, r sme amazing wrk f grace in ur life The Lrd fills ur nets, as He did fr Peter, and we cme face-tface with the pwer f Gd in ur lives And at that mment, the Lrd gives us a decisin t make Are we ging t cntinue chasing the bunty f the wrld Or are we ging t serve the One wh already wns everything? Are we ging t fllw the Lrd wh can fill ur nets anytime He desires? Are we ging t leave the wrld t serve Christ? That s a call f ministry and when we hear it, ur nly respnse is turning away frm whatever is hlding us back t fllw Jesus But ntice when Jesus revealed His divine pwer t Peter, it prvked fear in the man Peter instantly sensed his wn sinfulness and unwrthiness, as did his friends Their sin weighed n their hearts And they suddenly dubt they culd even be in the presence f Gd much less serve Him S in Luke s accunt, Peter tells Jesus t g away Have yu ever felt that way? Have yu ever felt unwrthy f Gd s call? T sinful t be useful? 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
16! f! 18 That Gd culdn t pssibly have time fr yu, much less any need fr yu And s like Peter, in self-pity yu tell the Lrd t g away Let me share a secret Peter was right he wasn t wrthy t serve Gd nne f us are There s nthing in us that Gd needs, and we re certainly nt equal t the wrk But that s where grace cmes in Gd s unmerited favr The lve f Gd is s great that He desn t just frgive us by calling us int a saving faith He als verlks ur weaknesses and disqualificatins t allw us t serve Him Think abut wh these men were Peter, Jhn, Andrew, James, They were fishermen by trade They likely had n frmal educatin much less religius training They were engaged in a prfessin that generally attracted rugher types They prbably shared in the varius vices that accmpanied men f this srt S exactly what qualified them t serve the Messiah? The king f earth and heaven? Gd incarnate? Abslutely nthing In fact, they were likely the last men n earth smene might have assumed culd be disciples f the Messiah Yet the Lrd selected these men frm amng all thse He encuntered frm Jerusalem t the Galilee Which simply demnstrates the Lrd calls unqualified men and wmen t serve Him, men and wmen wh knw they have nthing t ffer The disciples were just the latest example this principle, but Gd always wrks this way 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
17! f! 18 Gd cmmnly selects the ne yu dn t expect, the ne wh can t meet the standards, the ne withut the qualificatins Men like Jseph, Giden, David, Ams peple like us Why? Because then we re nt cnfused abut wh s really ding the wrk Because we wn t try t cmpete with the Lrd fr His glry Because in ur weaknesses, the Lrd is seen t be strng, as Paul says And think abut hw strng the Lrd shwed Himself thrugh these men Peter becmes the leader f the church in it s first days He preaches sermns at Pentecst and befre the leaders f Israel He cnverted thusands in the city f Jerusalem and beynd He bravely resisted the persecutin f the Jewish leaders and he became the first t cnvert Gentiles Eventually he accepted a martyr s death The ther men had similarly impressive recrds James became the leader f the Jerusalem, ministering in the face f severe persecutin and pverty until his early death as a martyr Early church writings reprt that Andrew was the first t evangelize the Black Sea regin f Gergia, Ukraine and Suthern Russia and was als martyred n a crss Jhn was instrumental in ministering t the early church thrughut the first century Eventually he received the greatest revelatin f the New Testament and recrded it in the bk f that name Can we imagine the church beginning withut the wrk f these men? Hw did they accmplish these things? They didn t Jesus did it thrugh them 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
18! f! 18 What mattered wasn t their ability it was their availability The Lrd calls unqualified peple, but He desn t leave us untrained The Lrd spends three years with these men training them by His wrd and example And then He gave them the Hly Spirit t guide them each day after Jesus departed He s given every believer the same things tday Yu wh have been given saving faith in Jesus Christ and salvatin thugh that faith, yu als have the wrd f Gd Yu have the recrd f what these men learned s yu can learn it t And yu have als been given the depsit f the Hly Spirit And s if yu fear yu have the same paltry qualificatins these men had, have n fear Yu have the same equipping they had t Nw the nly questin yu have t answer is if yu re ging t drp yur net? Is Gd calling yu t serve Him in sme new and different way? Perhaps t make mre time t study His wrd, t spend time in the cmpany f yur fellw believers Perhaps t devte mre time, talent and treasure t the wrk f the church Perhaps He s calling yu t abandn yur career, t turn yur entire life upside dwn by leaving yur nets in an instant I can t tell yu what He s calling yu t d, but I can assure yu f nw thing He s asking yu t d smething t fllw Him As yu cnsider this wrd tnight, I hpe yu re humble and curageus enugh t answer His questin hnestly 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.