Follow me and I will | Matthew 4:18-22

Matthew 4:18-22 "And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him. And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them. And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him."

Yesterday we looked at Jesus calling people to repentance. Our verses today deal with His call to service. None of the details in the Scripture are coincidental, but each one teaches us something. Jesus was walking by the sea of Galilee. A walk only lasts for so long, and Jesus is moving through this place. This was the opportunity of a lifetime for these fishermen who would be called, and such opportunities still come. There are seasons where Jesus is passing through a town or community, but His movement doesn't last forever. Eventually His work in that place will be done and will only continue in the hearts of those who followed Him.

*Not All Are Called*

It is in these times of extraordinary movement that men are called, but not all are called. The previous call to repentance was a universal call to all mankind, but the call to full-time service is not to everyone. The father was in the same ship, but he was not called to leave his fishing to become a fisher of men. Many more fishers were left by the seaside to continue their enterprises, but there were a few whose occupation changed that day. This is no reflection of bad character on the father’s behalf, He had completed his calling, he had raised Godly men who would become fishers of men. Perhaps God’s purposes for you to be a fisher of men, or perhaps it is to raise fishers of men.     

*The Instruction and the Promise*

Listen closely to the call—it has instruction and promise: "Follow me...I will make you fishers of men." These men knew only of fishing for fish. They had never tried to catch men, so they were entering a calling/occupation that they knew nothing about. So it is with everyone Christ has ever called. We are called into an occupation that we are totally incapable of performing. But where there is lack of ability, there is no lack of promise and instruction suited for our inability. He does not say to those He called, "Be a fisher of men," but "Follow me." That is all a called man must do, and that is something I can do. It comes at a high price—you must leave father and mother, home and occupation—but you can do it. Many down through the ages have heard the call and left everything and everyone to follow Christ, and that is all that is required of you: to drop your nets, to bid your father farewell, and put your footsteps in His.

Look at the promise given to all who will heed this call: "I will make you!" What a peace! He will make me what He has called me to be! If you obey the call, the weight of becoming what He wants you to be rests on His shoulders. So do not concern yourself with what you currently are and how far a distance lies between what you ought to be. Just follow Him, and step by step you will find that He is making you more and more like Himself.