When Jesus Calls

Mark 1:16-20 - And as He was going along by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men." And they immediately left the nets and followed Him. And going on a little farther, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who were also in the boat mending the nets. And immediately He called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went away to follow Him.

In this portion of Scripture, it becomes quite clear that Jesus Christ chose His disciples. In choosing them we see basically three things. First we see that Jesus saw them. (1) He saw who they were. They were fishermen, and He knew that about them. (2) He saw what they did - they caught fish. (3) He saw what they were - uneducated men. He saw them for who they were.

In the same way, when the Lord calls us He knows who we are. (1) He knows our personal identity. He knows what things make us who we are. (2) He knows what we have done. And yes, that means EVERYTHING! He knows what we've thought, what we've said, those dumb mistakes that we have made. He already knows all of those things that make us feel unworthy of Him. (3) He knows what we are/were...sinners - lost without Him. Yet, He chooses us anyway. In spite of ourselves, God chooses us.

Secondly, we see that Jesus spoke to them. (1) He spoke to them personally. He did not send someone else with a message. (2) He spoke directly. Jesus had chosen them and He chose to be the one to invite them directly - "Follow Me!" (3) He spoke with authority. Jesus said to them I will make you! He had the authority directly from the Father.

In the same way, when Jesus calls us, (1) He speaks to us individually. Read the following verses to see how true that is in your life. (John 3:16, Romans 10:13, Ephesians 1:13) (2) He speaks to us directly. In Matthew 10:34-40 we see the direct nature in which He speaks to us. That message there is for you, and for me, to be received directly from the Word of God. (3) He also speaks to us with authority. (Matthew 28:18-20, Revelation 1:17-18, Revelation 3:20) Jesus has the power and the right to speak as God - Because He is God!

Finally, we see their response to Him. (1) They left their nets. This was their life. It was everything they knew. It was their comfort zone. Yet they left what they knew and followed Him. (2) They left immediately. They didn't ask the Lord for time to think it over or talk to their family. In fact, God's word says that James and John left their dad in the boat with the hired servants. Can you imagine that scene? (3) They followed Him. They fixed their eyes upon the Lord and followed His command.

In the same way, when Jesus calls us (1) we need to leave. We need to leave our past, our sins, our fears, our decisions, our doubts, and our unbelief and follow the Lord. (2) We need to do it immediately. Hebrews 4:7 says, "Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts". Follow Him immediately. (3) But, whatever you do, you just simply need to follow Him.

You won't follow someone you don't know well with all that you have. Spend time in prayer with Him right now and commit yourself to His leadership. You CAN trust Him. His plans are to prosper us and not to harm us, and to give us a future and a hope (Jer. 29:11). What more assurance do we need?